The Sword vs the Shield: A World War to Remember
by Glenn393
Summary: The True Rune bearers from Suikoden History all reunite for a fated duel with the High Priest Hikusaak, but a turn of events quickly breaks out into an all out war tha requires the presence of all the great soldiers and masterminds of the Suikoden History
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

Hugo scanned the Karaya plains lazily, sitting on the soft blanket of grass, enjoying the sun's pleasant warmth on the back of his neck. In his strong fingers he twirled a small dandelion, not paying attention to anything in particular. His eyes glazed over the soft rolling hills of the Karaya plains. It was spring time, and the flowers seemed to pop out of the ground, eager to drink up the rays of the glorious sun. Landmarks in the plains were few and far between. The plains were miles long, full of budding wildlife and beauty. It was both lonely and relaxing. Hugo did much of his thinking out in the plains, away from civilzation and people. Members of the Karaya Clan assumed that he had become a loner, and that had lost part of his soul to the True Fire Rune, when in fact it was quite the opposite. The elemental rune made nature speak to him. Hugo could hear the rolling hills, flowers, and sun as if they were whispering in some deep, hidden, parcel of his mind. It didn't speak in words, or even in feeling, it was just some feeling that Hugo could identify with deep in his soul.

From behind him, Hugo could feel the wings of his faithful companion beating down toward to the ground, slowing the beautiful creature. Hugo turned his head and cheerfully looked at his lifelong friend Fubar. Hugo stood up slowly from the grassy hillside and gracefully walked toward Fubar. He patted Fubar's head and ruffled the feathers on the top of his head so that they stood upright. Hugo chuckled to himself as Fubar shook his head to fix the feathers letting out a discreet squwak of delight. Hugo delicately hopped onto Fubar's back. With great strength, Fubar pushed up off the ground, flapped his wings, and flew up toward the sun.

Hugo and Fubar were far up off the ground in no time. At this height Hugo could look across the Grasslands. He saw Brass Castle off in the distance, the Lizard Clan's caves not too far off, the remants of the Karayan village behind him, and out near the horizon he picked out Thomas' castle. In no time, Fubar neared Thomas' castle and swooped down toward the ground to let Hugo off. Hugo landed softly on the stone walkway of Budehuc Castle.

The castle grounds were flooded with people and merchants. They were like ants scrambling around the ant hill. Hugo reminisced of the times when the castle was inhabited just by Thomas and his friends. It had so much potential at the time, and although Thomas was originally frail and somewhat naive, he had matured so much over the years. Thomas took it upon himself to really interact with those staying at his castle. He mingled with all kinds of people in his town of all different races and social class. Thomas and Hugo had actually become quite close as well, both learning to come into their own. Hugo was expected to be the new Hero of the Grasslands and Thomas was supposed to be this King-like figure. Hugo eventually took Thomas out to learn how to fight and toughen him up a bit. Thomas eventually took up horseback riding and became quite skilled at it. Hugo had asked Aila to help Thomas learn how to shoot a bow and arrow, and now Thomas could shoot a bow and arrow with dead-on accuracy while riding his horse. Hugo decided to walk around a bit before he went to find his friend.

He wandered the open town square for a bit, getting bumped by the masses of people scurrying about. Hugo was looking around to see if he recognized anyone when out of the clear blue somebody walked straight into Hugo, nearly knocking him backward. Hugo angrily looked at who it was and his face instantly relaxed as a grin emerged.

"Afternoon Hallec!" Hugo cheerfully greeted.

"Hi Flame Champion," Hallec said monotone, as usual.

"C'mon Hallec, call me Hugo. You just never learn do you?" Hugo added lazily rubbing the back of his head.

"Hallec lost friend."

"Which friend now Hallec?"

"Spot."

Hugo laughed at that. Spot was the name of a puppy Hallec had found. It was actually a funny image, picturing the giant, muscular, war-ravaged Hallec walking around with a puppy.

"Don't worry Hallec, I'm sure he's with the other puppies. I need to go find Thomas though, we'll catch up more later okay?"

Hallec's head drooped and nodded as he waved goodbye to Hugo.

Hugo continued walking through town square, nearing the stairway up to Budehuc Castle. Something struck him deep down all of a sudden. It was both a warmth and a calling, something not usual. It was the presence of a True Rune nearby. Hugo held his hand out in front of him, letting the True Fire Rune lead him up the stairs toward the castle. He passed a few young giggly girls pointing and whispering about their favorite man around, Hugo. He blushed but did not waver from the feeling. He opened the castle doors and walked into the foyer. He ascended the marble stairway and eventually found himself facing the door to Thomas' office.

He grabbed the door handle and slowly swung the door open. He peered in and saw that Thomas was sitting at his desk with Lady Chris Lightfellow next to the desk. She stood straight as sword, her face serene yet stern. She had her hands clasped behind her back, her large blue eyes looking at the man seated in front of the desk.

The stranger turned around and looked at Hugo.

"Greetings Master Hugo. It is a pleasure to meet with you once again," the stranger greeted.

"Bishop Sasarai!" Hugo excaimed, shocked to see the Harmonian minister. "It's been over three years since I've seen you!"

"Why yes, astounding how time flies, is it not?" Sasarai replied cheerfully. "You sure have grown quite a bit. Filling out to be that powerful Karayan no doubt!"

"Hi Hugo!" Thomas exclaimed with a smile that stretched ear to ear. "How was your little trip? No matter! Sasarai has something important he'd like to tell us. We've been engaged in small talk while we waited for Fubar to go get you. If you'd take a seat, we can now begin."

Hugo walked over next to Sasarai and folded himself into a cross-legged position on the floor. He still wasn't used to normal chairs. He glanced and Chris and smirked shyly at her.

"Where's Geddoe?" Hugo asked Thomas. "If it's important he should hear it too, right?"

"Not sure yet, we sent a search party to go look for him, but it seems he has wondered off somewhere. It's not unusual that he's gone, but it's been nearly a week since he's been seen," Thomas answered. "I'd like to get started now though. I bet the Bishop has waited long enough to tell us his message."

Sasarai nodded and shifted uncomfortably in his seat, opening his mouth to speak. "There has been talk among the nobles of Harmonia that Hikusaak has found out about Luc's death. They've said that he's very angry at the loss of the True Wind Rune, and he would like somebody to go find it for him. Now, I figured this was a matter that the Grasslands should settle, so I left to come here and ask for your assistance searching for the Rune. This of course is rumor only, nobody has been in direct contact with Hikusaak for hundreds of years. Regardless, I feel responsible for seeking out the rune."

Chris stared intently at Sasarai and asked, "How do we know the rune isn't destroyed? And why would help the Harmonians?"

"Well, if the rune was destroyed, we would have definitely felt an imbalance in the world, and there would have been an explosion of some sort. So far there has been none, so there is reason to believe that it is intact somewhere," Sasarai replied. "I'd like to assemble a search team of our best warriors to find the True Wind Rune. And don't worry Miss, I've decided that I'm going to stay here at the castle. Harmonia will not get the True Wind Rune. Nobody knows of my leave or true intentions, but I fully plan on keeping the True Wind Rune when we find it. I do not agree with Hikusaak's plan to obtain all the runes."

Thomas stood up in surprise, "Isn't that dangerous, Bishop?"

"I have informed the nobles that I am merely on business for Harmonia. I have nothing to worry about. I would like to assemble a search team as soon as possible though. Is it possible to gather some of your companions to accompany us?"

"I'm sure we can arrange something," Hugo said thoughtfully.

The meeting had ended about half and hour ago. Hugo stood out on a balcony at the top of Budehuc castle, thinking about which companions he should bring to search for the True Rune. He leaned against the railing staring out into the distance. Hugo was much bigger now than when the Second Fire Bringer War happened. He had matured and was well past puberty. He was now over six feet tall, well chisled, wiser, and his hair now came down longer around his face and the back went below his neck where he tied it into a pony tail.

He had to create a team that could work efficiently and stand up to any danger along the way. He knew that Chris, Sasarai, and he would already be going, but he needed at least three to five more people to form a decent party. Edge immediately popped up in his mind. Edge was in posession of another True Rune, and was a very powerful fighter. He'd have to find messengers to the south to search for him. Louis could also come along. He had been training under Chris the past three years, taken strategic courses with Salome, and went through backbreaking workouts with Hallec and Leo. Louis had turned out to be an excellent warrior with a good heart, more-so than most people realized. Melville was a natural treasure hunter, he would have no problem finding things. Melville too had grown up to be strong. He was very independent and spent his time fighting creatures and going on daunting adventures. He felt that he had to out-do his father in nearly everything. He was a reckless young man, just a year or two younger than Hugo, but his luck seemed never ending, and was successful at nearly everything he did. Hugo also felt the need to track down Nash Latkje. Nash was a vital asset to any party, deftly getting through any problems or obstacles. Hugo had no idea where to begin looking for him though, so he tossed out the idea just as it flashed into his mind. That was it, Hugo had his mind made up. Edge, Louis, and Melville would accompany the True Rune bearers.

Hugo walked downstairs and assembled his search party to go south to find Edge. All the other members he chose were alreaydy at the castle, ready for combat at any moment. He saw Chris walking up to him. He looked away, and slowly started to walk toward the castle.

"Wait Hugo," she said. "Geddoe isn't back yet. We assembled the 12th unit to tell them about their leader's absence, and we found that Joker was also missing."

Hugo looked down at his feet. "I don't know then, do we go without him?"

"Come on Hugo, look me in the face like a man. You like to pretend you're not the leader, but ever since you united all these clans you've been a God to them. Make a decision and be the leader," Chris scolded.

"Don't you talk to me like that," Hugo said flushed with anger. He felt the True Fire Rune burning up inside of him.

Chris grabbed his hand, and although he wanted to pull away as if her touch burned his skin, her True Water Rune always cooled him down. She looked him in the face staring deep into his eyes.

He looked away and yanked his hand out of hers. "We move on without them." He started to walk away toward Budehuc castle.

Four days had passed when the search party for Edge finally returned. Edge walked into the village, much burlier and Viktor-like than when he left, clearly taking on the form of the sword's previous owner. He still had the same piercing eyes and stone face as ever though. Excited to see his old friend, Hugo strided over to Edge quickly. They exchanged handshakes and looked at each other sternly, still measuring who was the tougher warrior.

"Vanquish the foes you needed?" Hugo asked.

"Barely," a voice said from behind Edge.

Edge glanced over his shoulder at the sword on his back, "This kid is lucky I'm still sharp as ever," the sword spoke again.

"Please," Edge said in a deep voice, you're lucky I don't just throw you in the ocean and let you flow along to the Island Nations and Feitas River."

"Bring it on," the Star Dragon sword joked.

"Still haven't found a muzzle for it?" Hugo said jokingly.

"Hey, I'll muzzle you, you overgrown baby!" The Star Dragon Sword retorted.

"I don't mind it, the company keeps me from going insane," Edge replied.

"Really? If I had thing around me all the time I already would have gone insane," Hugo chuckled.

"So what's this exploration we're going to go on?" Edge inquired.

"To find the True Wind Rune," a voice said from behind Hugo.

Sasarai walked up to the two of them with Chris, Melville, and Louis,

"Interesting," The Sword said.

"Indeed. We'll need your help no doubt," Sasarai added.

"I feel intruiged. We can do this Edge, don't worry," The Sword spoke.

"Then we're leaving, now we've already waited too long. We'll go to the last place we saw the Rune. The Sindar Ruins."

After much traveling and battling, the group eventually made their way into the Sindar Ruins.

"I have a feeling that the Sindar Ruins we've seen so far, are not the full extent of the ruins," Edge spoke up.

"Oh really? And why's that?" Hugo asked.

"When I was down south, I met a man named Killey. He was telling me of all the ruins he's seen down in Falena and across the mainland, and how each ruin has deep secrets about it, and how there's always something hidden. I feel like we haven't unlocked this ruin completely."

The group continued on, quickly fighting off any beastly encounters. The group was well trained and stronger than ever, and most beasts stood no chance against their steel. As they continued on through the ruins, they eventually came to the hall where the cavern collapsed around Luc and Sarah. They made their way to the center and started to move away all the rocks.

"I doubt the Rune will still be in his body, it must go somewhere else when the person as died," Sasarai said as he heaved up another rock.

Eventually all the rocks had been moved, and the only things there were Luc's old mask and Sarah's old scepter. Hugo picked both of these items up.

"Wow, I wonder what happened to the bodies," he commented.

"Anything. The Runes hold powers which we have no idea," Louis piped up. He had been quiet the whole time. "Salome was telling me about the history of all the known Runes. It seems as though they're uncontrollable, and can take over people at any moment. He said the best known runes to do this was the Beast Rune and the Sun Rune."

Hugo was curious about his old enemy, looking down at the cracked mask. He held the mask over his face, and then gently clasped it over it. He peered out through the eye holes at his comrades, and saw something he had never seen before: The literal souls of the Runes. He saw it deep in the Zodiac Sword, in Chris, and in Sasarai. He held the scepter in the air and felt his own Fire Rune emitting a strange power from it.

"What are you doing Hugo? That's dangerous!" Louis warned.

And in an instant Hugo was plunged into darkness.

He came to the same emtpy world that Luc had shown him years earlier.

"I'm glad you came to see me," A voice echoed.

"Luc?" Hugo said in amazement.

"The future of the world has not changed. It will still become an empty, soulless place eventually. I do not care anymore though, I am now at peace."

"How can you talk to me? Where am I?"

"This is a vision that Master Leknaat has helped me create."

And out of the lifeless ground, a woman cloaked in white with dark black hair rose. She had a mysterious, yet dangerous air about her.

"Leknaat?" Hugo said in bewilderment.

"Hugo, your destiny is not one unique. With this Rune comes great responsibility. There is a new task that has arisen for all the True Rune Bearers."

Hugo stood there tensely, listening intently.

"Luc was not wrong in seeing this future, but he was wrong in his method. There truly is no way to destroy a True Rune. It is as impossible as making all the water in the world disappear. It cannot happen, it is one with the universe. But in order to save the world from this future, you must stop the one who seeks to create it."

Hugo nodded.

"I am telling you to go to Harmonia, seek out Hikusaak, and kill him."

Leknaat vanished and Hugo awoke on the floor of the collapsed cavern of the Sindar Ruins with the mask off of his face.

"What happened, are you okay Hugo?" Chris asked, kneeling by his side.

He sat up and felt his face wet. He wiped his cheeks and felt his eyes, he had been crying.

"What happened?" Chris asked again.

"We must find the True Wind Rune." Hugo said sternly. He stood up and faced the group.

He took Sarah's scepter off the ground, and as if he had been instructed to, he smashed it down onto the rocky ground. Immediately a fierce wind blew in the cavern, and at the spot where the scepter broke, a stairwell opened up.

"What in the world?" Edge said under his breath.

As if possessed, Hugo descended the staircase. Sasarai, Louis, Chris, Melville, and Edge quickly followed him.

Down below the cavern was another underground cavern. In the middle was a lit lantern, and a figure stood next to it draped in white cloth.

"Eresh has waited for a new bearer," The figure said.

It was a short stubby figure with a large staff draped in white linens.

"Who are you?" Hugo demanded.

"Not who Eresh is. What Eresh is. Eresh finally found purpose. Eresh vessel."

"Vessel for what?"

"No, Hugo she's right. She's just like me," Sasarai said walking up to the short figure.

He knelt down and spoke softly to her, "Where do you come from?"

"Eresh wander the world. Eresh go to Nameless lands. No good rune. Eresh go to deep south. Meet friends. No good rune. Eresh come west. Eresh almost killed. Eresh come north, Eresh hear voice, Eresh follow voice, Eresh find Rune."

"What rune?" Chris said, stepping into the lantern light.

The figure looked up mysteriously at Chris, "True Wind Rune of course."

Everybody's eyes went wide.

"Eresh, you have the True Wind Rune?" Hugo asked.

"Eresh vessel. New Armes know Eresh vessel. They chase Eresh out."

"Do you remember your past?" Sasarai asked.

"Eresh is circle"

"Circle?" Louis questioned. "Are you from Harmonia?"

"Eresh from Circle."

"I've never heard of that place before," Chris said.

"No," Sasarai blurted. "Hikusaak made her as he made Luc and I. She was meant to carry runes for him."

"Eresh from Circle."

"The Circle Rune is the rune that Hikusaak holds. He has the power to make clones like us," Sasarai continued. "I just don't know what to do about her. Do we bring her with us? How do we get the True Wind Rune from her?"

"Can we kill her?" Melville said devilshly.

Chris shot him a glance. He just chuckled.

Louis stepped closer and inspected her. "I've never seen anything like it before." He reached out to touch her head, and when he did, there was a shockwave sent throughout the room.

Eresh glowed a bright white. Louis felt like his hand could not move, his body was paralyzed. And in one moment, he felt a flood of new memories in his mind. He saw ancient battles of heros, he saw Tir, he saw Jowy, Riou, Luca Blight, Odessa, the Silverbergs, Leknaat, Sarah, a strange darkness, the Soul Eater. He saw blood, fighting, chaos. He saw Luc.

The light flashed bright once more and blinded them all, and when it faded, Eresh was gone, and Louis had a new marking on his hand. He had control of the True Wind Rune.

"That was much easier than anticipated," Sasarai said calmly. "Louis are you okay?"

Louis was gripping his hand tightly. "Yes, I'm fine. I'm just having a hard time accepting all these new memories. And the fact that I now have a True Rune."

"That Rune has clearly chosen you. I have no doubt you'll wield it wisely," Sasarai replied.

"No, we're not done." Hugo interjected. "We need more Runes. Our mission is nowhere near complete."

"What are you talking about Hugo?" Chris asked.

"We need more runes to go kill Hikusaak," he said with a fire in his eyes.

"Now wait just a second, what?" Sasarai said in disbelief. "Why?"

"Leknaat told me to. She said in order to prevent an empty future we must prevent the one who will create it. She commanded that we kill Hikusaak."

"Leknaat?" Chris asked. "When did you hear this? What happened to you Hugo?"

"When I put Luc's mask on, I briefly heard him, and I met Leknaat again. She told me we must assemble and go to kill Hikusaak," Hugo replied commandingly.

"Sounds fun. I'm down," Melville said smirking deviously.

"We do have all five runes now, and six including Edge's," Louis commented. "We'd need to collect an army again."

"We can use the Stars of Destiny once more," Hugo said.

Sasarai and Chris looked at each other nervously.

"It sounds incredibly risky, Hugo. It does make logical sense, especially considering the increasing powe of nobles," Sasarai added, "but I just don't know. This seems so sudden. We should consult others."  
"We should consult nobody. We are the bearers of the runes. We need to be discreet, deadly, and determined. Who is there to speak to? Do you understand the power we have?" Hugo said strongly.

A dark figure stepped out from the darkness. Everybody turned in fear. It was a woman draped in black.

"Your destiny has been revealed. You must fulfill it. If you feel that you're not worthy, then I will make sure that you're dead, and not worthy of anything else," The figure said.

"Who are you!" Chris yelled unsheathing her sword.

"Don't get upset, I could incinerate you in one second," the figure jetted back. "My name is Zerase. I've been chosen to lead the Stars of Destiny. I am the ultimate collector of warriors."

"Don't be so sure we trust you," Chris said proddlingly.

"Oh you won't have to trust me. You have no other option," Zerase threatened.

The group turned and went up the stairs out of the darkness and Zerase followed. When they go to the top, there was a figure standing there.

"So this is where it all happened," the figure spoke quietly.

"Who are all these strangers?" Melville muttered to himself. "This is ridiculous."

"Ah, the Fire Bringers," The armor-clad warrior said, turning to face them. He had a black helmet on and long flowing blonde hair.

"What are you doing here Pesmerga?" Zerase said coming to the front of the group.

"Looking for Yuber."

"For who?!" Hugo cried with a flash of anger in his eyes. He thought of the villain from the past. He remembered Yuber's murderous eyes, always probing his prey.

"My rival. The shadow. Yuber," Pesmerga replied calmly. "I heard he had come through here creating chaos. It seems that he is one step ahead of me. I am looking to catch him and stop his brutal actions. His Eightfold Rune has gotten out of hand. I must use my Sevenfold Rune to stop him."

"Sevenfold Rune?" Sasarai questioned.

"Yes. Seven is the holy number. I descended from the heavens as Pesmerga ascended from Hell. Our runes battle each other throughout eternity. We don't know when we were born, or why we fight, but we do because it is our instinct."

"Please join our fight. We have to go murder Hiksaak, we need all the firepower we can get," Hugo asked.

"No," Zerase spoke. "Pesmerga does not join any side. If there is chaos, he shall be there. If we succeed in our mission, there is no doubt Pesmerga will be there, either as friend or foe."

Pesmerga nodded and waved, "I shall see you sometime soon. I must go find Yuber." And as he said it he dissapated into thin air.

"And now we must go. Fate is brimming with excitement," Zerase said with pride. We will now head back to Budehuc castle and you will form up your army to advance on Harmonia."

The party left the cavern and traveled all the way back to Budehuc castle. They entered the town, busy as always. Hugo led his group through the crowd toward the castle. They all entered and went up the stairs to Thomas' office. Hugo opened the door; Thomas was standing by the window looking out. He turned his head to look at his visitors.

"Hugo! How did the mission go?" Thomas asked, his eyes twinkling with excitement.

"Well, it was a success, Thomas, but now we have another task, one divinely given. We are to assemble our army and advance on Harmonia," Hugo replied.

"Harmonia? Lady Chris, what is going on?" Thomas asked, evidentally surprised by the news.

"The prophet Leknaat has instructed us to advance on Harmonia and assassinate Lord Hikusaak. Hugo heard her tell the message first, but on our way back, our Runes spoke to us as well. She spoke internally to Sasarai, Edge, and myself also. There is no mistaking her message, or the urgency of it," Chris replied.

"I'll get Cecile," Thomas said. "She'll rally up the troops and our friends. Give me thirty minutes and I'll have our units assembled."

Nearly an hour later, Hugo led his army out of Budehuc castle across the Grasslands. His army of thousands was considerably larger than the last war against Harmonia, and they now controlled more True Runes. It was a formidable army on every front. They traveled for nearly three days, until eventually they got through the mountain passes. They came upon Caleria, a Harmonian outpost. They ransacked the fortress and took all the weapons, armor, and accessories they could find. They were only a day away from The Crystal Valley...


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

_Hugo._

Hugo blinked.

_Hugo._

Inside his head Hugo heard a familiar voice.

_Flame Champion?_ Hugo thought.

_Yes my friend. You are nearing the Crystal Valley. This battle is not impossible. Many years ago I successfully invaded The Crystal Valley to get The True Fire Rune. The One Temple is your ultimate destination. Advance on the city walls and bring pressure from the outside, because there is already a distraction within the walls. This battle has been predetermined by fate, my friend. Best of luck._

Hugo thought about what he just heard. He did not understand how fate predetermined this battle, or what may be going on inside the city already. He just kept marching on, leading his army toward the legendary capital.

Geddoe led Joker into a nearby alleyway, escaping the clashing of swords and explosions of runes.

"What are we doing sir!" Joke yelled over the commotion.

"I don't know! I just know that I have been instructed to be here! My rune has been speaking to me! I've heard the old Flame Champion and Leknaat directing me for the past month for this moment! Just be patient my friend!" Geddoe yelled back.

From above them, a body had jumped down from the one story building and landed nimbly. Geddoe and Joker spun around, confronted by a familiar face.

"Nash!" Geddoe exclaimed.

"Geddoe! Wang! Good to see you two!" Nash cried back. They quickly shook hands, making sure there was no fighting in the alleyway yet.

"What are you doing here?" Geddoe asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. I met an old friend of mine here in the city a couple of days ago, and he's asked me to accompany him. He told me to jump down here and that he'd be here shortly," Nash answered. "I feel so out of the loop."

"I agree, and I don't like it one bit considering the danger that we're in," Geddoe added.

A young man raced into the allway. Geddoe spun and drew his sword, confronting the young man.

"No, Geddoe! This is my friend," Nash exclaimed.

The young man offered his hand to Geddoe and Joker, "The name's Riou."

"Geddoe, it's a pleasure to meet you, sorry about that," Geddoe answered.

"What are we going to do?" Nash asked Riou.

"Jowy has successfully taken the intersection up ahead. I believe Freyjadour is coming up on the street south of here to meet Lazlo at the street to the west. Right now we're going to try to meet up with the two of them to take over the block," Riou answered. "Geddoe, you're ready to use that rune, right?"

Geddoe nodded affirmitavely and smirked, "Sounds like my type of action."

The four of them rushed out of the alleyway toward the street south of there. In the middle of the square they saw a tall, muscular man with bright orange clothing, with incredibly long white hair that was knitted into a flowing braid down his back. He was swinging a three-piece nunchaku wildly, at a few platoons of Harmonian soldiers, blasting foes with rays of energy from his hands at the same time.

Geddoe threw his hands out in front of him and let a shockwave of lightning energy explode from them. The shock went through a massive crowd of Harmonian soldiers. Nash had unsheathed the Grosser Flux, his legendary weapon, and Riou was using his own weapons to make their way through the dense crowd of soldiers, Joker following in their wake. They made it closer to the man with white hair, and eventually the bodies of soldiers littered the street, either shocked, dead, or paralyzed. A few stood there frightened, surrendering their weapons. Riou, Freyjadour, Nash, Joker, and Geddoe paid them no mind.

"Prince, we must continue forward to meet Lazlo," Riou said quickly, "there's no time to waste!"

"Of course, it is all working smoothly so far, friend," the Prince replied. "Who are you two?" He asked, looking at Geddoe and Joker.

"Geddoe," Geddoe said, adjusting his eye patch, "bearer of the True Lightning Rune. This here is a trusted companion, Wang."

The Prince nodded gravely, "I am Freyjadour, bearer of the Sun Rune and it's components, the Dawn Rune and the Twilight Rune. I assume you know the ultimate plan?""Freyjadour!" Riou said impatiently.

Geddoe shook his head, confused. "The former Flame Champion informed me to be here. I've heard nothing of any plan."

"Leknaat clearly has not been completely truthful with all of us then. Geddoe, we are making our way to the One Temple to assassinate Hikusaak. It is of utmost importance that you save some of your energy for the final battle. I do not know anything of this Hikusaak personally, or even why he must be defeated, but as bearer of The Sun Rune, Leknaat has instructed me to come here, claiming it was destiny. Enough for now, we must go on to catch up with Lazlo. Perhaps Tir is already there. We'll see. Keep your eyes out for Yuber too, he is among us."

Geddoe and Joker both nodded. The party ran forward through the streets. They turned the corner and saw a mass of soldiers standing there, blockading the street. From behind the platoon of armor-clad soldiers there was a blinding light and scorching flash. The soldiers all fell to their knees, presumably dead. From behind them a man with short, grey hair, and a red headband emerged, a stern and dedicated look in his eye. Next to him, a man with a green bandana wrapped around over his black hair. He held a long staff, and Geddoe could feel an immense power eminating from him.

"Lazlo! Tir!" Riou called. "The block has been secured! Any word from Futch or Sierra?"

The two young men ran up to the party. The man in the green bandana replied, "No not from either of them, I assume Jeane has already caught up with them, but Jowy just passed by minutes ago claiming that Yuber was up ahead."

Geddoe's eyes widened at the mention of three familiar names: Futch, Jeane, and Yuber.

"Wait, Futch and Jeane are here?" Geddoe asked.

The man with the red bandana looked at him like Geddoe was an imbecile, "Of course, Futch is the new Dragon Captain, bearer of the Dragon Rune, and Jeane is the Leader of the Sindar."

"Hey, don't get quick with me," Geddoe snapped back. "I have every right to know what is going on here, I evidentally have been left out of the plan."

Lazlo stepped forward menacingly, Riou stepped in between them, using his Shield Rune to calm the two men down.

"Lazlo, just because you have the Rune of Punishment doesn't mean you have to punish others for something so small," Riou remarked. Geddoe and Lazlo stood down.

"Prince? What should we do?" Tir asked, looking at the quiet royalty. "Is the Sun Rune saying anything?"

"Not yet," Freyjadour replied. "I do feel the darkness of Yuber closeby though. I say we find Futch, Jeane, and Sierra, and regroup at the headquarters."

"Sorry, I can't agree with that," Riou answered. "If Jowy is out there fighting Yuber right now I need to go help him, he can't be wasting his time with the shadow. Not only is it dangerous, but Jowy is vital to our strategy. Geddoe, do you hear the Flame Champion saying anything?"

Geddoe focused intensely on his Rune. He could not hear his old friend, but he did feel the presence of other Runes nearby, especially the Fire Rune, it was burning brightly.

"No, but I do feel the Second Flame Champion. Do any of you else feel it?" Geddoe asked. Many of them shook their heads.

"It must be because I was so closely tied to it for so long. Riou if you want to go after Jowy, I must now head toward the True Fire Rune, I hear it calling me. Joker follow Tir for now. Nash I ask that you accompany me, and whoever else would like to as well," Geddoe added.

"I will come," Freyjadour answered. "Lazlo, go find Sierra, Futch, and Jeane, and head toward the headquarters. We will all rendezvous at that point. If any of us get into trouble, use your rune to send some sort of message. Let's move."

Riou ran down the street where it connected with another adjoining road. The bodies of Harmonian solders lay scattered all over the street. A powerful force had no doubt come through here already. He continued on, feeling for the other half of the Rune of the Beginning. It was not too far ahead. He continued on hurridly, turning the next street corner. He saw his best friend, Jowy, fighting off a crowd of fiersome monsters as Yuber leapt in between attacks to try to catch Jowy off guard.

Jowy was twirling his staff around, knocking away creatures, and using the Black Sword Rune to destroy most of them. Riou ran up and made a shield of protection around Jowy, enhancing his stamina and healing some of his wounds. Yuber glanced over at Riou and pounced at him. Another black flash zoomed across the street and a loud clang echoed through the square. Riou looked up to see Pesmerga battling Yuber back. Jowdy had destroyed the last of the creatures, and Riou waved his hand to summon his friend. Jowy ran over quickly.

"Great timing," Jowy said seriously. "What should we do about Yuber?"

"Nothing for now," Riou replied. "It's Pesmerga's job to keep him at bay for now. We need to get back to headquarters now, we're starting to assemble."

Jowy and Riou ran back down the street together, heading for the abandoned temple they called headquarters.

Geddoe, Nash, and Freyjadour kept running toward the front of the city. Civilians were out and about now, clearly enough blood had been shed for the Harmonians, and with the Rune bearers dispersing it would be harder to concentrate forces. As they neared the city walls Geddoe felt the power of numerious runes beyond the gate. He saw a massive brigade of soldiers at the gate, and as he got closer. He realized that they were pouring out of the front gate, and in fact, it was not merely a brigade, but outside of the gates there were thousands of soldiers and a battle was erupting. This was where all the soldiers had gone.

Hugo looked at the crowd of soldiers in front of him, and then he watched them all ignite in flames. He spread the fire out among a large area of soldiers, trying to block out the sound of their wretched cries and screams of agony. He looked beside him, Louis was kicking up what seemed to look like a tornado. He was adjusting to the rune better than Hugo had when he first received his. Chris was on the other side of Hugo using her Water Rune to heal the injured Grasslanders. Sasarai was somewhere casting strength and protective magic, Hugo could feel it through his body.

He glanced around the battlefield. It was one of the most unbelievable sights he had ever seen. Karayans, Zexens, and Lizards all dispersed among the intimidating Harmonian army. And not just a few, but soldiers by the thousands. The sound of screams and steel were blaring on the battlefield before the mountainous walls of The Crystal Valley. Not to mention the miraculous and dazzling effects of the True Runes all at work. Hugo pushed his soldiers forward. He saw his mother, Lucia, the Karayan commander, Beecham, his friend Hallec, as well as the 11th and 12th Mercenary Units, among the other stars of destiny. His army seemed to be winning, barely.

Suddenly from within the castle walls, Hugo saw a beam of light come down from the Sun. It shook the ground, and near the castle gates there was a sea of electric shock. Hugo could feel the familiar Lightning Rune up ahead. Geddoe was here. But why?

Hugo grabbed Louis by the arm and shouted at him to follow him. He found Melville nearby, and motioned to Chris, Sasarai, Zerase, and Edge to all follow him. The party triumphantly surged through the sea of Harmonian solders with the help of the Lightning Rune up ahead and whatever other Rune that was coming from the Sun. They finally made it to the gate where they saw Joker, Geddoe, and a man with white hair.

"Geddoe!" Hugo cried.

"Hugo!" Geddoe exclaimed back. The two parties came closer to each other. They eventually met right at the gates among the commotion of scared and confused soldiers.

"We need to hurry and get to a safer spot!" Geddoe commanded.

The party all followed each other closely and ran through the Harmonian streets until they finally found a quiet alleyway.

"Geddoe, what in the world are you doing here?" Lady Chris asked in wonder.

"About a month ago, the old Flame Champion told me to come to Harmonia with Joker. He said we would meet somebody and a plan would eventually unfold. He said it was vital that I came with Joker. And it was, Joker saw Nash from afar. When we met up with Nash he introduced us to a bunch of other Rune bearers. I guess there's a plan to kill Hikusaak." Geddoe replied.

"Howdy pretty lady," Nash winked at Chris.

Chris glared at him and moved closer to Hugo.

It should be known at this time, of the special history between Hugo and Chris. After the Second Fire Bringer War they became close friends. And before anybody knew it, intimate friends. Hugo had grown to be a strong leader, one with more will, adventure, and pride than even Chris had. She admired him, and after being able to give up some of her power to her friends, and she could relax, she found herself worrying more about Hugo than her own affairs. Hugo in turn, fell in love with her. His True Fire Rune resonated with happiness whenever the True Water Rune was near. He felt safe and secure with her, and the two were engaged to be married. Something went wrong though. This was two years ago. A year ago, Hugo started to get more violent. He was getting restless with his Rune and with the Fate that Luc had exposed him too. He despised the extinguishing effect the Water Rune had on him. He felt like the Water Rune had power over him, and he felt all the anger toward Chris that he had before they were allies. There was still a deep human love for her, but for heavenly reasons, the two broke off the marriage, and were as caught up in lovers quarrels as ever.

"Yeah, Leknaat came to me and told me the plan," Hugo said. "Then we met Zerase in the Sindar Ruins. We also found the True Wind Rune which Louis now bears. Didn't expect so many True Runes to be here though."

"By the way everybody, this is Prince Freyjadour, from the Falenan continent. He bears the True Sun Rune," Geddoe introduced.

The prince nodded silently.

"We must get to the others quickly," Zerase commanded. "The Stars are waiting."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

The party followed Freyjadour to the temple, and knocked on the door. Jowy opened the door slowly. He saw Nash and Geddoe.

"Quickly, come in," he hissed.

Hugo and the rest of the party walked into the room, and Hugo felt a rush of power that he had never felt before. Inside the abandoned Harmonian Temple were two individuals and Hugo immediately recognized them from Luc's mask: The legendary Riou and Jowy. He peered around the room and recognzed Tir McDohl as well, the bearer of the Soul Eater Rune.

"Nearly all the runes are reunited," Zerase said proudly.

"How can you say that?" Riou asked. "There are runes that have been lost with people's deaths."

"Runes are never lost. They return to the Leader of the Sindar. To the Rune of Change. I can feel the leader approaching the building at this very moment."

And at that moment there was a knock at the door. Zerase opened it, and a woman dressed in barely anything walked into the room. All the warriors recognized her as Jeane.

"Greetings leader," Zerase spoke.

Jeane nodded.

"I am telling them of the future of all the Runes that have owners deceased," Zerase added.

"Ah yes," Jeane started. "I indeed am the Leader of the Sindar. And I also contain all the runes that seemed to have perished. The Beast Rune, the Sovereign Rune, the Gate Rune, and the other seven runes that have never been seen by this world."

At that moment, Hugo took the time to look at the other warriors that were following Jeane. He saw a young woman who gave off a blue light of some sort. He recognized her face from the mask as well. It was Sierra Mikain. Nash had walked over to her, led her to a chair, put his arm around her, and kissed her on the cheek. _So that was his wife_. Hugo thought to himself. He noticed another youthful looking man with a red bandana and gray hair that covered his forehead.

"Hugo, Chris, Sasarai, Louis, Geddoe, Edge meet the other True Rune Bearers," Zerase spoke.

"Lazlo," the short grey-haired one said.

"Sierra," the girl spoke.

"Jowy," the other warrior replied.

"Riou," his companion next to him said.

And then Hugo's eyes were set upon an old friend.

"Futch!" Hugo cried.

Futch smiled and stood up, "That's right. Milia gave the Dragon Rune to me."

"Are these all the rune bearers?" Hugo asked.

"Nearly," Jeane replied. "Hikusaak also has a rune. Pesmerga has a rune. and Yuber has a rune. Leknaat also has a rune, but only half. Windy still has the other half."

"Wait, Jeane you're the leader of the Sindar? Is it really possible that you have eight runes on your body right now?" Hugo asked.

"Yes it's true. I'm sorry I kept the truth from you all for so long. It is not as incredible as it sounds though. The Runes take an incredible toll on my mental psyche. Not only that, but I cannot use any rune in sizeable amount, the other runes will all act up and get out of control. It's time to plan now though, I will explain more later. Zerase, please continue."

"Hikusaak has been preserved in the temple by the Circle Rune," Zerase started. "The Circle Rune in itself is one of the most powerful runes ever. The Circle itself represents life, rebirth, coninuity, alchemy, anarchy, wholeness, infinity, something unbroken."

"I myself do not even know the full extent of the danger the Circle Rune posesses," Jeane added.

"We need to move quickly though, right? The Harmonians know that we're here now," Hugo said.

"Calm down kiddo, I don't think you realize the caliber of the warriors in this room right now," Geddoe joked. "We're all legends here. We're the true Stars of Heaven."

"Indeed," Zerase added.

"Well then I feel downright out of place," Melville added.

"You should," Zerase spat.

"You should Not," Jeane contradicted. "Fate has brought you here for a reason. Your spirit is uncontrollable, dangerous, and exciting. It is for this reason, that you have been brought here. It is for this reason, the Sovereign Rune has chosen you."

Jeane opened her arms and closed her eyes, and from her forehead a white sparkle emerged and went to Melville's forehead. There was an intstant change. His posture was much different, his face was more strong and solelmn, and his eyes danced with power. It was a sight to see.

"So was Luc's death in vain? Did he die for nothing?" Sasarai asked.

"Luc's vision was ultimately right. His method was wrong, but Luc was right in wanting to save the world from the fate he saw. His intentions should be noted as good," Zerase said.

Freyjadour laughed, "You just pop up everywhere don't you Zerase?"

She looked at him coldly. "Just because you have the Sun Rune, Twilight rune, and Dawn Rune, doesn't make you any more special you little brat."

"What about us?" Nash said pointing to himself and Joker.

Jeane looked over at them as well.

"Nash, there will be a challenge for you waiting in that Temple. Your True Rune is waiting for you there," Jeane said. "And Joker, unfortunately, your business here is to be a witness. There is no rune for you, you must be your own person."

Joker looked almost sad, but was clearly excited to be in this position.

"We go tonight," Zerase said. "We have many hours to wait till dark."

Hugo walked through the temple, trying to meet these great heroes. He ended up sitting next to Riou. Riou looked at him cheerfully.

"So where are you from?" Hugo asked.

"Kyaro. Yourself?"

"The Grasslands. I'm a Karayan."

"Still young I see though. Your parents still alive?" Riou questioned thoughtfully.

"My mother is, she's a fierce warrior. She's leader my army outside the castle walls at this very moment. I never knew my father though."

"I can understand what that might feel like. I grew up an orphan myself. I used to get made fun of for it. Jowy used to also be bullied around, that's how we became best friends."

"Was it tough growing up? Actually, no that's not what I want to ask. I'm sorry, I just feel so inferior around all these warriors, I'm not sure how I should feel," Hugo said sadly, putting his head down.

"Hey, c'mon now Hugo. I can understand how you may feel, but I felt the same way. It's part of the rise to power. I was an orphan in a small brigade, but eventually it unfolded into conspiracy, trickery, and slaughter. When I came upon the True Rune and received the Bright Shield it was no easy task. I had to defeat Neclord and Luca Blight. I had to unify the Dunan area and fight the Highland army. I too united the 108 Stars of Destiny. You can do it though Hugo. Really. Challenges lie ahead in the future, especially the not-so-distant future. Tonight, I'm talking. We're all going to be challenged. But we're all together. The runes are in the right hands. You have nothing to be scared or nervous about, because we all support each other here," Riou encouraged.

The young man named Lazlo walked up to Hugo and Riou. He sat down on the bench next to Hugo.

"How you doin kid?" Lazlo asked.

Hugo looked up at the stern looking young man, he felt a rush of confidence from Riou's encouragement though.

"I'm doin' amazing," Hugo said with a familiar fire in his eyes.

"Good, because I hear from that soldier lady that you're in a rough spot. I came over to just let you know that you're not alone. Runes are a burden and a killer, if anybody knows that I sure do. It's the nature of my Rune. In the past this Rune would kill off its bearer and just cycle through hosts. I wake up every morning wondering how long the Rune will stay in its Forgiveness Stage. Because I know at any moment, this Rune could kill me. It's scary kid. But I'm sure like Riou has been telling you, we're all here for each other. We're not all so different. You may feel like this war is overwhelming, but many of us have seen much more war and despair then just the Second Fire Bringer War. I mean, damn, Sierra would be the perfect person to talk to. She used to slaughter innocent civilians and drink their blood. The woman's a vampire. There are so many burdens of these runes. If you're still feeling nervous and unsure, I would highly recommend talking to her," Lazlo spoke.

Hugo looked at Riou as he clasped Hugo's shoulder and nodded. Lazlo patted Hugo on the back and picked him up from the seat. Hugo smiled and walked across the temple to where Nash was seated with Sierra and Lady Chris.

"Well, well, feel like talking?" Chris said hig-falutingly.

"I feel like learning," Hugo retorted. "Sierra, how do you do it?"

Sierra chuckled and Nash smiled.

"Do what, Hugo?" Sierra asked.

"Handle the pressures of the rune."

"Did Riou and Lazlo tell you what I used to be?" Sierra questioned.

Hugo nodded.

"It was an awful time. The Blue Moon Rune made me so blood thirsty. Of course I can control it now, and it recognizes me as its true bearer, but it does not make the memories go away. Do you realize I'm almost 900 years old now? It still feels like yesturday all the atrocities I committed. But I've been through enough, and seen enough suffering to know that I'm not alone. Every rune has an effect on its bearer, and never usually good. These runes are both a cursing and a blessing. Just keep pushing to become stronger, that's all you can really do," Sierra told Hugo.

"Hugo, I've seen you grow up in times of war," Nash added. "You're from a clan of war. Your mother is a fierce warrior. It's not something alien to you. It is inside of you, you just need something to truly expose your heroism and fiery passion. I myself do not have a True Rune, so I cannot speak of the burdens, but I have been dangeriously associated with True Runes, and I know a little about them and their burdens. There's no question you can do it though. Lulu died for his passion, your mother lives for hers, and that was Jimba's whole basis for living."

From beside Hugo there was a slight whimper. He glanced at Chris next to him and saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"I can hear my father talking to me sometimes," She sobbed. "He's a part of me. I feel him with me all the time, but he's also so distant. And the pain of never being with him is something that still troubles me. I may seem like this rigid soldier, but I really can't do this anymore. Hugo I keep telling you to be strong because I want to follow my own advice. But I know where your burdens come from, and I can't help but feel them as well."

Hugo moved closer to her and put his arm around her. She felt small in his arm. He was really was much bigger than ever.

"Chris, I never knew my father. And Riou and Jowy were orphans themselves. I'm sure Sierra can barely remember her parents from so long ago. It's painful but like everybody has been telling me so far, we can always rely on each other. The bearers are in this struggle together, and heaven knows, I'm always with you."

Chris looked up at him with her ice blue eyes. He wiped the tear from her cheek, and she collapsed into his arms, grabbing him close, crying on his shoulder. Sierra shrank back into Nash's arm and kissed him on the cheek.

"What's it like to have that kind of power?" Geddoe asked Tir. "I feel like my Lightning Rune is so much more inferior than yours."

"Geddoe, be happy with what you have. The Soul Eater is becoming increasingly wearing. I feel like it's destroying my soul. I find myself becoming more cynical, more judgemental, more angered. It was the death of my best friend Ted. There's no doubt it's insanely powerful, but it a price I'm not sure how much more I can pay," Tir replied.

"I always was the leader back in the Grasslands. I was the last remaining member of the trio of Fire Bringers, I had fought Harmonia in wars before, I had stolen the Lightning Rune from them, I had been through a lot. But now in the presence of the rest of you, I feel much smaller and insignificant."

"I can't see why you should feel that way. You were one of the largest factors in the Second Fire Bringer war. If Harmonia had won that war and gotten the 5 True Runes I cannot imagine the future we'd be in right now. You were as much a part of history as any of us. I no doubt have respect for you from what I've heard."

Tir offered his hand, and Geddoe clasped it, shaking it with a sense of brotherhood.

"I've heard wonderous things about your deeds," Sasarai complimented.

"It was a tough time of my life, I won't deny that," Freyjadour replied. "Thank you though."

"Lord Salome taught me much about the Falenan Queendom," Louis piped in.

"What's so special about it?" Melville asked.

The two members of royalty and the two young adults sat in a different corner of the temple, having their own discussion.

"From what I heard, it was always a Queendom, ruled by strong women. They'd have wonderous gladitorial games to determine husbands. And there was always warring politics and manipulating politicians. Politics had killed the Prince's mother, kidnapped his sister, and Freyjadour traveled across Falena uniting the people to overthrow the corrupt politicians," Louis recited.

"All very true," Freyjadour added. "It's different now though. Unfortunately, many years ago, a terrible clan called Nether Gate regrouped and became a force to recon with. They succeeded in assassinating my sister and her husband, as well as her children. They also killed my aunt, and nearly all of my family members. But before they got to me, I went to the Sun Rune for help, and the Sun Rune chose me as its bearer. This was the first time in history that it had chosen a male, especially since males couldn't rule in Falena. When it affixed itself to me I also became the bearer of its sub-runes, the Dawn Rune and the Twilight Rune. These two sub-runes can help me control the Sun Rune from getting out of hand. I detroyed Nether Gate and reunited Falena again. Falenans accepted me as their first leader. I refused to call myself a King though. I was just the stand-in until I ever might have had a daughter to become Queen. Thats why I still have others refer to me as Prince."

"That's very admirable, Prince," Louis added. "I'm fascinated with royalty. I grew up very close to Lady Chris, and I'm intruiged by the idea of royalty. I wish I myself could rise up to come to a position of power someday."

Sasarai laughed to himself.

"What's funny?" Melville asked.

"Louis, you must be joking," Sasarai said. "Royalty is nothing but bloodline. Just because there is a blood relation does not mean that the person is any better in character or leadership than anybody else. Look at Luca Blight for instance. You associate royalty with power, but that is not true. I'm surprised Salome did not teach you further. Right now, you hold something more powerful than royalty could ever be. That Rune is true power, not some bloodline."

"He's absolutely right," Frejadour added. "You too Melville. I know you're both young, but you can see in the past of the runes and understand what we mean."

Louis and Melville both nodded.

Edge was now sitting with Jowy and Riou.

"I can't believe that I'm looking at this sword again," Riou joked. "It's been a while."

"What ever happened to Viktor?" Edge asked.

"He went to see the Higheast Rebellion. I bet Geddoe might have seen him there. Joker too. The two of them were one of the reasons the rebellion was surpressed. I actually have no idea where he or Flik might be," Riou replied.

"It'd be nice to see those two clowns again," Jowy laughed. Riou and Edge laughed with him.

"I wouldn't worry about giving back the sword though. He wanted you to keep it. Just keep fighting, and eventually you can pass it on as well," Riou said.

Edge nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

"So how are the battles outside of the walls?" Hugo asked Riou.

"Who knows. Do you think we should check on it?" Riou replied.

Hugo nodded, "It's been hours. If the Grasslands have been defeated then who knows what the Harmonian Army is prepping to do."

"We don't need to all go, we'll send just a few people," Riou added.

Riou turned around and asked, "So who feels like going to check up on the Grassland Army?"

"I definitely am," Hugo immediately said.

"I'll go as well," Freyjadour offered.

"I will also," Sasarai added.

"That's really all we'll need. So you three go check up on the Grassland Army and come back here as soon as possible," Riou instructed.

Hugo stood up from the wooden floor, brushed himself off, and walked to the door. He turned the door knob and pushed the door open, peering into the street to see if the coast was clear. Not a soul in sight. Sasarai and Freyjadour followed closely behind him. The jogged through the streets, darting into alleyways, trying to stay out of sight.

Eventually they came to the city walls where they heard the roars of thousands outside of them. Hugo looked around for a way to see the action. Freyjadour ran over to a door that seemed to lead to a stairwell to the top of the walls. The three Rune bearers quickly hopped up the stairs, and once at the top they saw that there were thousands of archers along the tower walls hailing arrows down to the soldiers below.

"We can't look from up here, there's too many soldiers around," Sasarai whispered. Freyjadour nodded in agreement.

"Wait, we can't get as good of a view anywhere else though. We need to be able to see the entire landscape," Hugo whispered back. "Wait, Sasarai, they still think you're a bishop here right?"

Sasarai smirked and replied, "Yes, I forgot about that. So the three of us will walk up, I'll call the soldiers off from attacking you two, and we'll analyze the situation."

The three young men walked up the rest of the stairs and came to the top of the outer wall. Some soldiers looked at them, but were clearly too occupied with what they were shooting at As Hugo, Freyjadour, and Sasarai neared the edge of the wall, they certainly saw why.

The battlefield was a sea of screaming soldiers. And more than when Hugo had gotten there.

"Soldier," Sasarai spoke to a nearby archer, "What is the situation out here?""Bishop Sasarai!" The soldier cried in a panicked voice. "The Grassland Army had attacked first, and we held them off, but it appears that reinforcement armies from the Toran Republic, Dunan Republic, Island Nations, and Falenan Queendom have all united and are commencing an onslaught of the city.

Freyjadour's eyes went wide with the mention of his home country. Sasarai turned around and started walking back to the stairs, Hugo and Freyjadour followed.

"Well, that's certainly a surprise," Freyjadour said. "Who called the armies to come and fight?"

"Who is in charge of your country now that you left it?" Sasarai asked.

"I gave power to a trusted General, Shula Vayla. Do you think he sent the order? But how would he know about the siege? And how would Dunan and Toran know to come as well?"

Sasarai shook his head. "If we had a a tactician, maybe we could analyze the situation better. I don't have any clue though."

"C'mon," Hugo interjected, "Let's go back the headquarters and tell everybody the news."

The group raced back through the streets, rushing with adrenaline, and they were back to the temple in no time. They barged right through the front door.

"Seems like Harmonia will be sieged," Sasarai spoke to everybody. "Somehow, the armies of Falena, Toran, Dunan, and the Island Nations were called here. They're all outside fighting right now, and it seems Harmonia is losing."

"That doesn't make any sense," Jowy spoke up. "How would they know to come?"

"We don't have a clue. But do you think it's worth looking into?" Sasarai asked.

"Most definitely," Geddoe replied. "That's really fishy. Nobody knew about the Grassland's plan to attack Harmonia, and for the rest of the countries to band together and help us fight without any of us personally asking them to sounds a little odd to me."

"Well, here's what we'll do then," Riou started, "Some of us will go to the One Temple right now. We'll find books on Harmonia, hopefully we can find something about city plans. There could be an alternate entrances to the city. If we can find one, and let our soldiers inside, the Harmonian siege will go much quicker. I'll definitely go this time."

"I'll go too," Freyjadour said. "I want to know why my country is here fighting."

"I'm going again," Hugo spoke.

"Me too," Tir said.

"Alright, let's move out then," Riou commanded.

Riou, Hugo, Freyjadour, and Tir all left the temple, and hastily made their way to The One Temple library. They sped down streets and alleys, occasionally asking for directions to the temple from the townspeople. In about twenty minutes they were there standing in front of the enormous library. They flew up the marble stairs and into the Library Main Hall.

They heard talking in the chamber adjacent to them.

"Who would be here?" Hugo asked.

"Harmonian bishops? Who knows," Tir replied. "Get your weapons ready, we're going to make sure that they don't bother us."

The four soldiers readied their weapons and charged through the wooden door into the large meeting hall. In the center of the room was a long table, with many people sitting there, talking quietly. They all looked up startled when the four rune bearers charged in.

"What in the world?" Riou said calmly, slowing down. "Leon?"

Sitting around the table were all familiar faces to the rune bearers. Leon Silverberg, Lucretia Merces, Shu, Apple, and Caesear Silverberg. And sitting next to the tacticians were other familiar faces.

"Georg!" Freyjadour said happily.

Georg Prime, Sonya Shulen, Kasim Hazil, Kwanda Rossman, Kai, Valeria, Camille, and Milich Oppenheimer all sat at the table as well. They were all former Generals of King Barbarosa.

"What are you all doing here?" Riou asked excitedly.

"Well, we heard about the siege, all the armies came here, and we thought to come offer our help," Lucretia replied. "We needed to make sure that there was some sort of order to the attack. As careless and brutal as it might have been."

"This is perfect, we needed tacticians to help us!" Hugo said, looking over at Caesar happily.

"Help you?" Leon said gravely. "Who exactly is 'you'?"

"Oh boy, it's all the True Rune bearers. We were called here by Leknaat to assassinate Hikusaak," Hugo said bluntly.

Riou nudged Hugo, "Come on Hugo, a little more discreet okay?"

"You're here to do what?" Georg spoke up. "That's a little much isn't it? Sieging Harmonia isn't enough?"

"No, you don't understand Georg," Freyjadour replied. "There's a terrible fate for the universe if Hikusaak gets all the True Runes. So Leknaat told us to band together, and attack him to prevent the Ashen Future.

"Exactly. And so I brought the Grassland Army here with us originally, but now it appears that there are four more armies attacking with us. And none of us gave the command to," Hugo added.

"Sounds odd," Leon spoke slowly.

"Yes, especially because the Falenans were the first to offer help. I already spoke to some of the commanders outside of the walls," Lucretia said. "It sounded like Falena knew about this attack, and started to travel northward. The Island Nations heard that Lazlo had gone to Harmonia, so they banded with Falena. As they traveled northward, it seems like they convinced Toran to come, and when Lepant heard that Tir was here, he agreed readily. Once they passed Dunan, they convinced Borus Ridley to come, and the other city-states as well. The only one that didn't come was Tinto. But it sounds like a trickle-down effect to me. They all banded together once they saw everybody coming together anyways."

"I don't like that," Tir said. "I didn't tell anybody where I was going. How would Falena know about it to tell Lepant?"

"Something doesn't fit," Shu spoke. "There's no way that the siege of Harmonia should be Falena's concern. I don't know how word would have traveled that fast either. There are five armies here now attacking Harmonia. Let me just make a point, what armies are defending the homelands?"

Leon nodded. "Sounds dangerous and hasty to me. Focusing all the armies at one point. Leaves the original homelands exposed."

"I don't like this at all, we didn't need the armies here at all," Hugo said. "This was originally just supposed to be the True Runes. And now all these tacticians and generals and armies and countries are involved."

There was a knock at the door, and another familiar face poked their head in.

"Come in Klaus," Leon spoke.

"Well, there's definitely news. And not good news either. I just got back from outside the city walls trying to find out anything new. And it seems we have an awful problem on our hands," Klaus Windameir said.

"I wonder what's going to happen now?" Jowy asked to nobody in particular.

"Well, it seems like once the armies siege Harmonia, we'll have easy access to finding Hikusaak. It wasn't the original plan, but it sounds good enough," Nash replied.

"So when should we go find Hikusaak?" Sierra questioned.

"I would tend to say after the siege is complete. There is no doubt in my mind that the five armies can overcome Harmonia," Lazlo replied. "Hikusaak is probably hiding somewhere right now anyways, it would be impossible to find him."

"Do you think he would flee the city?" Jowy asked. "That's what I would have done."

"No. He is here," Zerase spoke up. "I can still see his star within the city somewhere."

"Wait, you know where he is?" Lazlo asked.

"Not exactly, but I can feel the presence of stars and Runes. I know if they're relatively present, but I cannot see them clearly, no," Zerase replied.

"Do you think Hugo and the others are alright?" Geddoe asked.

"They're fine, I still see all their stars together," Zerase replied. "Wait. This is awkward. They're congregated with other brightly shining stars."

"Wait, what?" Geddoe said nervously. "They're not fighting in a battle, are they?"

"No. I see several very familiar stars. Lucretia Merces and Georg Prime to mention," Zerase said.

"Lucretia Merces the tactician?" Jowy asked. "We definitely could use one of those right now."

"Wait, they seem to be moving. I think they might be coming back," Zerase said.

Hugo, the rune bearers, former Great Generals, and tacticians all traveled through the city to the temple. They couldn't run this time because there were so many of them, but soon enough they got back, and unseen as well.

Hugo opened the door and let everybody come in. There was an uproar of surprise from everybody in the room, meeting familiar faces and unfamiliar faces.

"Everybody! Calm down!" Leon shouted. "There is a crisis on our hands!"

"What's wrong?" Geddoe asked.

"Klaus went outside of the walls, and apparently it's true that all five armies are here. And it's true that Harmonia is almost sieged. But, there is one critical problem right now. It appears that New Armes has taken control of Falena and the Island Nations. A group called Nether Gate apparently regrouped and went inside Toran and killed all the officials and people commanding the city. Armes moved in and took the Toran Republic. There's also been word that Howling Voice Guild members are inside the Jowstone city states assassinating people and that Armes is in the process of sieging them as well. There's also word that the Tinto Republic has moved on the Grasslands and the Grasslands is nearly completel under Tinto control."

Everbody in the room was completely silent. This news was shocking and upsetting.

"Well what the hell do we do now?" Lazlo said angrily. "We have to go reclaim our homelands."

"What about our goal to kill Hikusaak?" Hugo asked. "We need to do that or else this is all for waste."

"That's not all," Leon interjected. "It appears that Windy and Barbarosa have returned. Windy went and is apparently leading Highland on attacks on Jowstone. Barbarosa has also claimed to be the leader of Toran."

"This is awful," Nash said sadly.

"Right now, we find Hikusaak," Riou commanded. "Right now. We need to all leave right now, the Rune Bearers I mean, kill Hikusaak, get out of here, and go reclaim our homelands. Zerase, please, try to find the location of his Star."

"Achoo!" A strange voice echoed throughout the room. In a bright flash there was a girl in a white robe standing there. "Oh no, not again." She said angrily.

"Viki!" Everybody in the room said. They all knew her throughout history.

"Oh? Hello everybody, so nice to see many of you again. Erm. Where excactly are we?"

"Viki, god damnit, you just love to show up at the best times don't you?" Geddoe laughed. "Zerase, please tell me you can find his star. With Viki here we can definitely all transport there together, it'll be a sinch."

"I think I can see it faintly. I see something more though. He's not alone. There's a much brighter star with him, blindingly bright in fact, I didn't pay attention to it earlier. He is with Yuber."

"What in the world?" Chris thought aloud. "Who is behind all this? Are we missing something bigger than us?"  
"Evidentally," Shu added. "It even has me stumped. Whoever planned this war and all these meetings is clearly a mastermind of some sort."

"Viki, you can transport us there right?" Hugo pleaded.

Viki nodded and smiled. Zerase told her the place, and in a flash, the Rune Bearers were gone, telling the tacticians and generals to stay put till they got back.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

They all appeared in a large hall. Many familiar faces were along the altar at the front of the room. Yuber, Leknaat, Albert Silverberg, and a man who they assumed to be Hikusaak.

"Welcome," the man said slyly. "It's about time you all arived."

"Leknaat, what are you doing here?" Zerase asked.

"My job is to maintain order and balance in this world. It was Windy's job to disrupt it. In order for there to be complete balance in this world, the Ashen Future must come true. And in order to do that, Hikusaak must have all the True Runes."

"It was all my idea really," Albert Silverberg said evily. "Hikusaak came to me, asking my opinion on certain issues knowing how I assisted Luc. I was already knowledged about Hikusaak's plan because of Luc, and indeed got the rank I wanted. So I advised him to have all the True Runes come to him instead of looking to get all the True Runes. I came in contact with various Sindar experts, Killey, Lorelia, Zweig, and found out that they knew more about the Sindar than Hikusaak did. I collected information, studied history through the private Silverberg Library, went across the globe in the past three years collecting information, and finally came to the conclusion that all runes return to the Sindar leader. And by checking birth records, words of citizens, looking at wars in history, I came to the conclusion that Jeane was the most likely candidate to be the leader of the Sindar. So I summoned my old friend Yuber, and had Yuber come in contact with Luc and Leknaat with his Rune. Leknaat of course had her own agenda, but it was one that coincided with Hikusaak's. As the Gate Rune Keeper, it was her responsibility to look out for all the Runes. And that means, it was her responsibility to unite all the Runes again and prevent them from being destroyed. So I came up with the plan to have Leknaat visit all the True Rune bearers, and have them unite to come and fight Hikusaak. In this room right now we have 26 of the True Runes. It was also my idea to have Yuber stick around, because Pesmerga was bound to show up, which would make 27. Now, contrary to popular belief, I thought about the strength of the runes. And after talking with Leknaat, I deduced a new theory. That just because all the Runes were in the same vicinity of each other did not mean that they would all unite and the world would come to nothingness. I just deduced that nothing would actually happened until somebody destroyed all the Runes. And thanks to Luc, I had found out how to successfully destroy a True Rune. I brought this information to Hikusaak, in hopes that he could control all 27 True Runes without destroying them. Which would mean Harmonia would be the most dangerous and unconquerable civilization, with no enemies, only servants.

I had Hikusaak promise Armes that they could take Falena without a war, which changed Shula Vayla's mind about who he sided with. Shula gave Armes Falena, and Armes continued to move and conquer the republics. I also had a source who knew Nether Gate, and I promised that Harmonia would protect them and fund their drugs and science if they helped us. I also goaded Tinto in to helping take the Grasslands, and the Howling Voice Guild to be our personal assassins. I made sure that the I could get all the armies here, and then siege all of the other countries. I also knew that with all five armies here, Harmonia itself would not stand up, so I summoned my old friend Yuber to come and summon his own monsters to decimate the congregated armies. Once we got all the True Runes, we would have already occupied all the nations, and we would control all of the True Runes. It would be a sweeping victory."

"Leknaat, how could you?" A voice said from the darkness. A black knight stepped into the light. It was Pesmerga. "How can I serve you when you are siding with Windy. This is not order Leknaat, this chaos. And in this case, the end does not justify the means."

"Shuttup Pesmerga," Yuber hissed.

"No Yuber, you serve Windy, I serve Leknaat it's that simple. We both embody the sword and shield, and never before, have sword and shield come together and bind forces for anything. Leknaat, we are giving up the responsibility of the shield. How could you not tell me what you were doing? Hikusaak will now take your Rune away, and by doing that, he's taking the Shield away. Can't you see that?" Pesmerga reasoned.

"You're all so deluded, all of you," Yuber cackled. "You all love to think that this world revolves around the True Runes. I love it. All so deluded. The world is all about the Sword fighting the Shield, the Runes are just tools along the way to help the battle."

Yuber turned and looked at Hikusaak and said, "You think that this war is all about you and your quest to get the True Runes. It's not all about you, you're so much less than that."

"How dare you," Hikusaak said. "I am the bearer of the Circle Rune."

"Right," Yuber laughed. "How does the Circle Rune make you any more of a ruler than anybody else here? It's a True Rune. That's it. Do you want to see the real power?"

Yuber turned, and in the blink of an eye unsheathed his two swords and stabbed Hikusaak through the chest.

"Hiksuaak!" Leknaat cried.

Yuber laughed insanely, "You're all fools! You thought this was about the True Runes! You think the True Runes cause the Ashen Future? You're all wrong. It is the battle between Sword and Shield that causes the Ashen Future. It's the eternal fight that eventually destroys everything, the True Runes are simply our weapons for accomplishing this."

"Yuber, this is too much," Pesmerga replied.

"Wait, where do I fit into this?" Albert asked. "Yuber, what are you doing?"

"No Albert, you did everything perfectly. There's no question you're the smartest tactician ever. But what you have done, is unite the True Runes together. And allowed them to take sides. You have done well my friend. And for that, I'll let you live, for now."

"Take sides?" Hugo asked.

"That's right," Yuber replied. "The True Runes inside of you, all of you, take a certain side. The sword, or the shield. You can feel it coarsing through you, you just never knew what it meant. But this is what it has come down to. You must choose to fight with me and allow the Sword to conquer the Shield, or you must choose to fight with Pesmerga and have the Shield win the ultimate battle. I let Hikusaak's plan go through because now the entire world is in chaos, with no leader, with no boundaries, so there is no need to make new alliances. It is simple, there are two sides. The Sword and the Shield. I am Windy's servant, the true embodiement of the Sword, and Pesmerga is Leknaat's servant the true embodiement of the Shield. This is our purpose in the fate of the world, and you are all lucky enough to be a part of it! And when you join our side, the Stars of Destiny will have to choose sides, and with the Stars and Runes joining sides, eventually civilians will join sides in an epic battle! So now, everybody, look deep inside yourself, and say the word the True Rune is commanding you to say."

"Sword," Jowy said.

"Shield," Riou said.

"Sword," Hugo said.

"Shield," Futch said.

"Sword," Tir said.

"Shield" Sierra said.

"Sword," Lazlo said.

"Shield," Geddoe said.

"Sword," Freyjadour said.

"Shield," Chris said.

"Sword," Jeane said.

"Shield," Sasarai said.

"Sword," Louis said.

"Shield," Melville said.

"Shield," Edge said.

"And that's all there is to it," Yuber smiled. "You have chosen your sides."

"Wait, no I haven't!" Hugo cried. "I am not fighting Chris, and I am not siding with you!"

"No Hugo, you've picked sword. This goes beyond our feelings, this is fate," Chris replied calmly.

Hugo stood there dumbfounded. "Are you kidding? After all we've been through?!"

"No I'm not kidding. This is the battle that matters, and you can't let feelings get involved. Feelings will get you killed Hugo."

"Feelings are what make us human!"

"No Hugo, it's beyond that. We are no longer human, we're vessels for these runes. It makes sense doesn't it?" Jowy said.

"No Jowy, don't think like that, I don't want to fight again," Riou replied.

"This is madness," Geddoe interjected. "A rune tells us something and all of a sudden our lives are void? Don't believe your runes for a second."

"Then come to our side," Yuber smiled. "Do it, go against your Rune, and side with us."

"I will not. And not because of my rune but because I don't want to be on your side," Geddoe replied.

"No, you say that, but you know you don't like me because your rune does not like me."

"I'm sorry Lady Chris," Louis said sadly. "Are you really going to feel that way?""Yes Louis. This is what fate and destiny are. We all took on the responsibility of the runes to get to this. It's inevitable," Chris replied.

"No. Sword and Shield can fight if they want, there's no reason why we have to join them though," Nash spoke up. "Why do you all need to fight?"  
"You wouldn't understand," Sierra said, touching Nash's hand. "It's something we feel, even though we don't want to."

"Well then, we'll chat later, but now, we must be off," Yuber smiled. And he teleported himself, Jowy, Hugo, Tir, Lazlo, Freyjadour, Jeane, and Louis out of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"Something's not right. I can just feel it," Georg Prime said. "I feel like there's some cosmic imbalance."

"I agree," Lucretia replied. "But who are we to know anything?"  
"No. The True Rune business is out of our hands. Those runes are their own entities. But right now, there is another battle we must be fighting. The war to retake the homelands. The rune bearers may fight on their cosmic scale, but we mortals must fight on our world scale," Caesar added.

"Exactly my thoughts. We must all split into groups, rendezvous with the leaders of the armies, travel back down, defeat Armes, seek out Nether Gate, disrupt the Howling Voice Guild, and drive back Tinto before any of the countries can do anything. Whoever masterminded this plan clearly meant for there to be chaos when what we really need was a time of order," Shu thought aloud.

"I can't believe Barbarosa is back too," Kasim Hazil spoke. "He is leading Toran right now. Is he right or is he wrong? And does he still have his True Rune?"

"I don't have a clue. But we must end this war before more people get killed. We must leave Harmonia right now, and have our troops disperse so that we can all lead them to regain their homes," Leon said.

"What about the rune bearers though, they need the battles to keep the Harmonian soldiers busy?" Caesar asked.

"No, they have True Runes, those soldiers are no match for the lot of them," Leon replied. "We must leave right now."

The old generals and tacticians all stood up from the temple and went to the secret passageway they entered the city by. They walked long the damp stone corridor until they saw the light at the end of the tunnel. They all walked out and went to the back lines of the Grassland army where there were an array of tents set up. They walked over to the tent that Klaus had said was the commanders' tent.

They opened the flap and peered inside. In the tent was Thomas, Lucia, Lepant, Ridley Wizen, Boris Wizen, Lyon, Galleon, and Belcoot.

"Greetings everybody," Georg said happily.

"Ah, you're back," Lucia said thankfully. "We weren't sure if Klaus made it back safely."

"Belcoot, good to see you again. I see you were made Freyjadour's field general," Georg observed.

"Heh, yes sir that's right. An honor to be here as well," Belcoot replied.

"What can we do for you?" Ridley said.

"We must all leave the battlefield at this very moment," Leon instructed. "There is no time to waste. Gather your troops, go your separate ways, and follow our command."

"Hey now wait a sec, we're not just letting you barge in here and push us around," Lepant said defiantly.

"People forget how useful we are in times of war," Leon reprimanded. "You should be thankful we're helping. This is how we will seperate, I will go with Lucia to the Grasslands with her army, I want you to accompany me Kasim. Shu will go to Jowstone with Sonya, Boris, and Ridley. Caesar, Lepant, I want you both to go to Toran with Kai and Valeria. Georg, I want you to go with Lucretia down to Falena."

"May I accompany Caesar?" Apple asked.

"Yes Apple, go right ahead. The other generals, I want you to stay here with a small mixture of troops, but lead them back toward the Caleria as an outpost. We'll call on you if we need help. Let's move now. Gather the armies and set out."

Leon and Lucia lead the Grasslanders back across the Harmonian plains and through the mountain pass. They met Tinto all along the plains. Tinto was fighting guerilla warfare, and Leon thought hard of a counter-attack for that strategy.

"Lucia, Tinto seems to be coming from the south. Instead of going through the souther planes, we will travell north and then west around the northern villages. We will come down south and siege Brass Castle and spread our forces out from there," Leon commanded.

And so the army went north around the Alma Kinan, came close to Budehuc Castle and Iksay Village, and headed directly south, where they met Tinto head on at Brass Castle. Tinto had already overtaken the castle.

"Lucia, do you have any ideas on how to enter the castle? I don't know the area as well as you would," Leon asked.

"Actually, Hugo told me of a secret passageway that leads into the castle. I think I can find the entrance and we can enter that way," Lucia replied.

Leon had Beecham take half the army and continue to attack the outer walls to create a diversion for the Tinto soldiers. Leon personally accompanied Lucia into Brass Castle, knowingly putting himself in harm's way. It went against his morals, but he knew this was a dire time. So Leon, Lucia, and half the Grassland army made their way through the underground passageway. They erupted in the middle of the castle, and started killing Tinto soldiers from the inside out. They had somebody go open the doors, and Beecham's army flooded in and they overtook Brass Castle.

Leon then had the Grassland army split up into threes. One would stay at Brass Castle, the other would move to Vinay Del Zexay to take the city back, and the third would take Budehuc castle. Thomas went with Leon to Budehuc, Beecham took hold at Brass Castle, and Lucia took her own army over to Vinay Del Zexay. In no time they had defeated Tinto by taking back all the castles. After the castles were taken, they could relocate troops and spread out through the plains and fight small battles to drive Tinto back. This was all finished in a matter of days thanks to the masterful commanding of Leon Silverberg.

In the meantime, Shu, Boris, Ridley, and Sonya had gone back to Jowstone. Windy was using her True Rune to win battles, so Shu needed to figure out a way to retake all the city-states. He knew that since they were not a united country he could slowly gain control of each individual city state. With Boris and Ridley back, Two River instantly freed themselves of Highland's rule. Shu led Sonya to win back the trust of the people, and have the people themselves drive out soldiers. They feared Windy's Rune, but one day she had suddenly disappeared, and nobody knew why.

At this same time, Caesar, Apple, Lepant, Kai, and Valeria all got to the Toran Republic. They had one of the toughest times though since Nether Gate had based themselves in Toran. Late one night, Caesar had miscalulated where the Armes forces and Nether Gate forces were, and his encampment was sieged. Lepant, Kai, and Valeria were all killed. Caesar and Apple were taken hostage, and Nether Gate had decided to send them to Falena to answer to their leader. Toran was not taken back though.

Down in Falena, Lucretia and Georg were met with harsh opposition. They had to deal with the entire Armes Army and some Nether Gate forces as well. They used the Falenan army masterfully, and even used the Island Nations army to help as well. They eventually took Sol Falena back, Georg killed Shula Valya for his betrayal, and the townspeople rejected the Armes Soldiers, united, and drove out Armes from the Falenan borders.

"Did you hear? Lepant, Kai, and Valeria were all killed, and Caesar Silverberg and Apple were taken down to Falena!" A voice said in the empty tavern corner.

"Yeah, but Caesar was never as skilled as Odessa anyways," A voice replied.

"Well, what about Toran? We can't just let Nether Gate overtake the area. Tir hasn't come back yet, and the army is badly beaten down."

"Do you think we can take on Nether Gate?"

"We most certainly can my little buddy," one voice laughed heartily.

"C'mon Viktor, all seriousness, you think we can do this?"

"Flik, when could we not? We're the same good old soldiers we always were," Viktor replied.

"But even with Barbarosa in power?" Flik asked.

"Of course, we just get our old buddies from the old war, we go in, kill Barbarosa, hope that Nether Gate retreats and goes back to Falena, and in no time I'm sure Tir will be back and Jowstone will be here to help us," Viktor replied.

"Well, then, let's go have some fun!"

Viktor and Flik stood up, left the tavern, walked outside and saw a big commotion. There was a group of Nether Gate assassins and a few Armes soldiers cornering three individuals.

"Master Tir will be back soon! And you'll never get the end of your punishment for going against us!" One voice yelled.

"Hey, that sounds familiar! Sounds like Gremio!" Viktor said.

Viktro and Flik ran over to the commotion, and saw their old friends Gremio, Pahn, and Cleo. Viktor ran his sword through one Nether Gate member before the others could adeptly react to the surprise attack. Flik helped, and while Nether Gate was distracted, Pahn, Gremio, and Cleo all fought back as well. They defeated the Armes soldiers and Nether Gate members as all the townsmembers around them cheered.

"You guys feel like taking Toran back?" Viktor asked.

"With Master Tir gone can we do it?" Gremio replied with a question.

"Of course we can!" Flik said heartily.

"We found out Barbarosa is stationed in our old fortress on the island in the lake. We've heard he's with some other entity as well. Some vampire or something, we're not exactly sure," Cleo informed Viktor and Flik.

"Well, let's get going! Get a boat, a lil' swim, maybe some fishing, it'll be a grand time!" Viktor laughed.

The group set out to the Toran Lake Fortress. They got to the island and found it swarmed with Armes soldiers.

"Should we sneak in? Take some costumes, fake names?" Flik asked.

"Yes!" Viktor cried. "I shall be, Schtolteheim Reinbach VII!"

"C'mon Viktor, isn't that a little much?" Flik said reporoachfully.

"Ah fine, it is too much. Schtolteheim Reinbach V!" Viktor laughed. "Better?"

Flik shook his head but said, "Fine, let's just get some of their funny looking soldier outfits, and we'll get right in."

So the five of them hijacked five soldiers and tried to fit into their clothing.

"Hey Flik," Viktor asked.

"What Viktor," Flik replied.

"Does this outfit make me look fat?" Viktor laughed.

Cleo punched him in the stomach and Gremio laughed at that.

"Quiet you blundering bumblehead!" Cleo hushed.

"I know what you are, but what am I?" Viktro rebuttled happily.

Flik chuckled, and the five of them walked over to a side door to the old castle. They walked upstairs sneakily, avoiding eye-contact with any other soldiers, till finally they got to the main chamber and busted down the door.

"Aha! Barbarosa! You're day has come!" Viktor bellowed. "Wha-"

Viktor and Flik saw a ghastly looking Barbarosa, and another being next to him, one they recognized as Neclord.

"I defeated you!" Viktor cried.

Neclord laughed in Viktor's face, "You did not! I have come back from the dead, given a second life by Windy. She knew she could not control Barbarosa with his Sovereign Rune, so she went to Yuber for advice. She found out Yuber was working for Albert Silverberg and Hikusaak and so she asked their advice as well. Albert Silverberg came up with the idea to have her revive me, and then have me prey on Barbarosa. This would technically kill him, and his rune would leave him."

Barbarosa smiled, bearing two ugly fangs.

Viktor readied his sword and sprang forward. Neclord dodged the attack and was about to strike back, but Flik ran forward and parried the blow for Viktor.

"Well, neither of you have the Blue Moon Rune, so all we need is to seal your soul and defeat you like last time, no problem!" Viktor yelled.

He did the ritual Kahn Marley had taught him, sealed Neclord's doppleganger again, did the same to Barbarosa, and he and Flik decapitated them both.

"How can Windy bring people back to life? I've never heard of that," Flik said.

"I think it might be something with Yuber. I don't think he's from this world, maybe he can summon the undead," Viktor replied.

"You don't think Luca Blight would come back do you?" Flik asked.

"Who knows. Yuber must be stopped though, that's for certain. If he's not, who knows what kind of hell he could unleash," Viktor replied.

Viktor and Flik turned to Cleo, Pahn, and Gremio.

"Come on, let's get out of here and rally the Toran troops to take back control," Flik said.

"Ah, it seems my minions have been defeated," Yuber said. "I can feel their presence leaving."

"Your what?" Hugo asked.

"I summoned Neclord for Windy from the undead realm. It appears that he has just been killed," Yuber replied.

"I still don't know what our purpose is," Hugo interjected right after. "I will not fight Chris and Geddoe."

"I have decided to fight Riou, you must do the same," Jowy said.

"Do I have to kill you, Hugo?" Yuber threatened.

"You're not killing anybody," Tir commanded. "I simply will not allow it."

"You have no say, I am the sword, you answer to me, not the other way around," Yuber said.

"Yuber, how can we win this?" Jeane asked. "It appears that we have the power of 9 people, yet they have 10. And I don't count as one, because I cannot use the True Rune's power."

"Are you saying we need to even the scales a bit? I like it," Yuber smiled devilishly.

He glowed a black light, and from the ground rose a body. Jowy's eyes went wide.

"Luca Blight," He mouthed.

Jeane felt a rune releasing itself from her body as the Beast Rune floated over to the newly made body.

"HAHAHAHAHAH I AM BACK," the person echoed. "LUCA BLIGHT IS BACK."

"Don't get too confident Luca, it's only temporary, you know you're just an empty creature now," Yuber said.

"I HAVE AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF BLOODLUST RIGHT NOW. I DO NOT CARE WHAT I AM."

Luca Blight turned around and stared down Jowy.

"YOU!"

"Get away from here Luca," Jowy commanded. "Yuber, I cannot fight if Luca Blight is here."

"Then let the final battle begin now. To settle Luca's blood lust we shall meet Pesmerga right now and have a battle for the ages," Yuber cackled.

Hugo just shrugged his soldiers and looked at the floor.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

"Pesmerga, can we really defeat the Sword?" Zerase asked. "It appears that many of the Tenkai stars are on that side."

"Just has a sword is only offense, a shield is only defense. We are impregnable," Pesmerga said. "Just as long as Leknaat does not give up her half of the Gate Rune."

"I'm truly sorry everybody," Leknaat spoke quietly.

"You lost my respect Leknaat, this battle no longer concerns you," Pesmerga shot back. "Riou, Geddoe, Chris, Sasarai, I will rely on your magic the most."

"Do you still need me here?" Viki asked.

"You may leave if you like. I can teleport us from here on out, thank you though," Pesmerga said.

Viki nodded, and in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

"When will we fight this battle?" Geddoe asked. "I'm still not sure how this all works. When is the battle over?"

"When either Yuber dies or I die," Pesmerga replied. "This is a battle between sword and shield, but the True Runes are the sheath for the sword and the handle for the shield. We need your help in order to end this battle and prevet the Ashen Future."

Albert Silverberg sat on the altar, his head down. "What can I do?"

"Nothing," Pesmerga answered. "You did your part by bringing all the True Runes together. You can leave and see the world of destruction you created if you'd like."

Albert got up and knelt down next to Hikusaak's body. He took out Hikusaak's sword from its sheath and held it up. "I don't know if I can fight."

"Albert, neither of us can fight," Nash said. "We are too weak for the power of the runes."

"Yes, Nash, you must leave if you want to live," Pesmerga said. "It is certain you would die in the collateral damage."

"Albert, I'll take you with me if you want, maybe you can call off Armes and Nether Gate and the Howling Voice Guild, and try to set some things right," Nash offered.

"You can do that yourself, I have already destroyed too much. I was the best tactician the world has ever seen, yet I feel like I did so much wrong. The end was inevitable, but my means did not justify the end. And I went against my grandfather's beliefs. He believed that war needed to be ended as soon as possible no matter what. It seems I instigated more of a war than anything," Albert said sadly as he looked at the sword in his hand. "Please tell Caesar something for me."

"Yes?" Nash asked.

"Tell him... tell him that his actions were better than mine, even if his mind wasn't." And with that, Albert brought the sword down into his upper stomach and drove it through him till it stuck out of the other side. Blood gurgled in his throat has it leaked down his chin. He fell to his knees, slumped over on his side, and died.

Nash had Pesmerga teleport him to the castle walls after he kissed Sierra goodbye. He avoided the Harmonian soldiers, who apparently stopped fighting. He got a horse from a nearby townsman, and rode out into the desert toward Jowstone and Highland. He thought of all the events he'd seen in his lifetime. He had been present through nearly every war and was still alive. Not only that, but he was not a True Rune bearer. This never stopped him though, he could still be useful as a normal mortal. And now, he knew his goal. He had to ride and find the members of the Howling Voice Guild and settle things once and for all.

So Nash set forth to Highland to get to L'Renouille. He assumed Windy would be there, and he assumed he could find the Howling Voice Guild there as well. He slipped into the city. Not many soldiers were around since most of them were down in Jowstone. He eventually tied up his horse somewhere, and head for the palace by foot. It took him nearly three hours, but he eventually found a secret passageway into the castle. It took him deep to the basement. He found a chimney down in the basement and got inside it. Pushing against the sides of the chimney he eventually made it all the way to the top and got to the roof of the castle. On the roof there were windows that looked down into the giant hall below. He peered into the windows and saw three Howling Voice Guild members that he recognized: Clive, Cathari, and Zaj. Three of the best members.

Nash closed his eyes and concentrated on what he'd have to do once he was in there. He opened his eyes and jumped through the glass. He took out the Grosser Flux, extended it like a whip and snapped it toward a balcony in the room. It caught hold, and he swung across the room and landed on the floor, letting the Grosser Flux come back together. He took out a small knife from his belt and whipped it at Cathari, it caught her in the shoulder as she reeled back in pain and surprise.

Nash darted forward and jumped in the air before Clive got his shot off from the Sturm. Nash came down and kicked Zaj in the face. He took out another needle and flung it at Zaj's face, puncturing his cheek. He run forward and swung the Grosser Flux wildly and cut Zaj in half. A shot was fired behind him and it caught him right above his right hip. He turned and saw Cathari aiming her gun at him again.

He raced forward, ignoring the pain and swung the Grosser Flux around again, slicing Cathari's head off. He turned and faced Clive who had Sturm leveled at Nash's head. Clive pulled the trigger but nothing happened.

"Wha?" Clive wondered.

Nash stepped forward and snatched the Sturm out of Clive's hands. He held the gun and pointed it at Clive's stomach. He pulled the triger and a bullet fired into Clive's stomach. Clive clasped his stomach and fell to the ground.

"Why.. why has Sturm rejected me?" Clive asked.

"You killed Elza you bastard," Nash said angrily. "Sturm chose you so that eventually you would find me. Now you're just getting what you deserved. Not only did you kill an innocent Elza, but you have not assassinated and slaughtered many people in this world war. Your time is over Clive."

"No, please," Clive pleaded.

"Don't plead to me, I know you're just going to stab me in the back," Nash replied.

Clive smiled evily, "Then I guess you can kill me. But you'll never find Windy. She has already gone to Yuber. The final battle will begin shortly."

Nash didn't care. He pulled the trigger and show Clive in the head. Nash climbed a stairwell back to the roof with the Grosser Flux and the Sturm and eventually made his way down south to help in Toran.

A couple days had passed since all the commotion as Pesmerga and his followers prepared for the attack from Yuber and his followers. The world was slowly getting back into shape, but attacks from Armes, Tinto, and Nether Gate continued on.

Windy, Pesmerga, Jowy, Luca, Hugo, Tir, Lazlo, Freyjadour, Jeane, and Louis all appeared in the room in the Circle Palace were Pesmerga and his group was. The room itself looked like it was fated for the final battle. The walls were made of marble that rose up nearly 50 feet in the air. At the top the ceiling was domed, and the dome was covered in paint and plates of gold. Long, fifteen foot windows lined the entire room. At the front of the room was a lone podium; surprisingly there were no chairs in there. It was a massive hall left entirely empty.

"Pesmerga, the time has come," Yuber said happily. "The end has come."

Yuber leapt forward toward Pesmerga and the echo of their clattering swords blared through the room. Leknaat looked at Windy and the two of them each sent out Gate Rune magic at each other. Jowy looked for Riou and sent a bolt straight at him, Riou defended it easily though. Hugo just stood at the back of the room, not willing to fight, Louis stood next to him, Melville came over as well.

"I just feel like this isn't our war," Hugo said.

"I agree," Melville replied.

"Is this really the way to prevent the Ashen Future though? We've been lied to so much. Clearly the Ashen Future does not come because of Hikusaak and uniting the 27 True Runes. Does it really come when either Shield or Sword never wins? Must one side truly win for the Ashen Future to never come?" Louis asked.

_Hugo._

_Flame Champion?_ Hugo thought.

_No. It is I. Hikusaak._

_What are you doing. What do you want?_

_You need to make sure Yuber or Pesmerga loses. I've clearly been fooled, but it is too late for me._

_I will not fight Chris or Geddoe._

_You do not have to. Join Pesmerga's side, and have everybody gang up on Yuber._

_My rune will not allow me to._

_I thought you said you were human? Stronger than your Rune?_

_Shuttup._

_Can you not bear it? The power the True Rune has over you? I was the original Hero. I know the power of True Runes more than you can imagine._

_Why don't you just die already?_

_Hugo, listen to me, gang up on Yuber, and end this. Make the shield win._

_Hikusaak, you are my enemy. If you want the shield to win, then the shield must be bad._

_Hugo, I am not your enemy. I was power hungry._

_And you were betrayed by the Sword, and now you want me to fulfill your revenge. I want nothing to do with that._

_Suit yourself. I'll just have Luca Blight unleash the Beast Rune on everybody there and you can watch the Shield die._

_Wait! No!_

_Too late Hugo._

Luca Blight leapt forward and swung his sword at Futch. Futch tried to parry the blow but was too slow and was slashed across the chest. Luca Blight kicked him backward and turned to Chris Lightfellow who was using her Water magic to protect Pesmerga. He reared his sword and swung down.

"Chris!" Hugo cried.

Chris looked up with her blue eyes, seeing the bloodied, crazed, Luca Blight. Sierra jumped in front of her as Luca's blade pierced Sierra's chest.

In a fit of rage, Hugo unleashed a shockwave of fire that he embued with passion and anger. The flames hit Luca Blight from behind has Hugo pounced on Luca's falling body, stabbing his two daggers deep into Luca's neck and ripping out his vocal chords and slicing the nerves on his back. He stabbed deep into the back of his neck again and shoved his hand in and yanked at Luca's spinal chord. Luca Blight lay there motionless.

Riou rolled and sent out another magic attack at Jowy.

"Sierra," Chris said kneeling down to the maiden. "Why did you do that?"

"To protect love," Sierra smiled. "I've lived my life with Nash, but you've yet to live yours with Hugo."We transcend time with Eternal Life. The story of Sword and Shield never ends, and love never dies. Live on, Chris."

Sierra released a deep breath of air and her face settles calmly as her eyes rolled back in her head. A tear streamed down Chris' face as she cried into Sierra's bleeding bosom.

Hugo looked up at Yuber. Yuber had a wide grin on his face, his pupils glowing a faint red. Geddoe stood opposite him with Pesmerga firing away magic while Yuber dodged and fired rune magic back. Sasarai was protecting Geddoe with magic now that Chris was distracted. Tir, Lazlo, and Freyjadour were unleashing an array of magic at Pesmerga, desperately trying to defeat him.

"You son of a bitch!" Melville yelled as he jumped at Yuber. "I will not let you take away the lives of all these admirable heroes! You're scum!"

Yuber turned, ready to kill Melville when suddenly Pesmerga flew across the room and parried the swing. He fought Yuber in hand to hand combat.

Yuber looked at Pesmerga and said, "Why not unleash the true power of our runes?"

"You can do what you want, but you know whatever magic you use, I can deflect," Pesmerga replied.

Yuber quickly rose his hands to the sky and out of the ground came what appeared to be massive zombies. Pesmerga threw his hand out in the direction of one of the zombies and the zombie was instantly obliterated in a cloud of dust.

"Whatever you summon Yuber, I can destroy," Pesmerga taunted.

Geddoe unsheathed his sword and ran at Tir. Tir whirled his staff around and blocked the swing of Geddoe's sword. Tir swung the other end of his staff up and landed a blow right at Geddoe's right temple. As Tir was making his motion though, Geddoe brought the butt end of his hilt straight down on the top of Tir's head. Geddoe glanced quickly to his left and saw Jowy charging for him with Riou chasing him.

Jowy swung his own staff like a club at Geddoe. Geddoe nimbly dodged it, but was body slammed by Jowy and hit the floor. Geddoe readied his sword to thrust deep into Jowy's stomach. But at that moment, it was as if a breath of life had come into the temple. Two men walked in. One was dressed in a gold and purple robe with long black hair, the other had green and scarlet robes on with a short black beard. A horde of people followed behind them.

Hugo looked at the two men. Behind them came Viktor, Flik, Georg Prime, Leon Silverberg, Lucia, Lucretia Merces, the other Great Generals, and the other tacticians as well.

"Mazus and Crowley at your service," The one with the short beard smirked. "We have spent hundreds of years learning the ways of the runes and their magical abilities!"

Mazus continued, "Your plan is finished. My master and I have finally figured out the truth behind the runes and their powers. We both have over one hundred runes on our bodies. We've mastered and overcome their temptations, and although not True Runes, they carry remnants of the True Runes in each and every one of them."

"You cannot take the True Runes," Crowley added. "With the 27 True Runes gone, we wondered if the Earth would still remain. And after hundreds of years of fighting and experiementing with the normal runes and their powers, we now know that the world would in fact not end. The True Runes are merely the jewels of the broken Sword and Shield. Without the jewels, the Sword and Shield, Sky and Earth, will still remain."

And with that being said, Mazus and Crowley raised their arms up to the sky and everybody in the room fell to their knees in agony. Even Pesmerga and Yuber. And from all of the bodies in there, the Runes came out of them as small sparkles. The two legendary magicians then brought all 27 sparkles into one conjoined light. In that light, all who looked in it would see the pasts of the Runes, and the people who had once controlled them. Crowley and Mazus then clapped their hands together, and the one sparkle mushroomed into the air, and a boom like thunder echoed throughout the room.

And it was done.

"There are no more runes in this world. No True Runes, no runes from the True Runes, nothing," Mazus said. "The Earth can now go on in eternal peace. The Sword and the Shield will forever be against each other, but never again will they ever disappear or fight the way they have been. Because they cannot fight anymore, the world will not be broken down to nothingness, and the Ashen Future will not come."

"And now that our life's duty has been fulfilled. We are finished. Our bodies were made up of 90 rune material after all our experimenting. And now that it is gone, we are finished," Crowley concluded.

He looked at Mazus, and in an instant their bodies collapsed to nothing but sand on the floor.

The group of heros all stood up and looked at each other in disbelief. Even Yuber and Pesmerga stopped fighting, there seemed to be no will to fight between them. The runes that had controlled them were gone.

Everybody there was speechless.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8:**

"So Leon, what is the latest update?" Riou asked.

All the former Rune bearers, tacticians, and Great Generals sat in the meeting hall in the Circle Palace. The hall was illuminated by colored light streaming in through stained glass. Three large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, sending down rays of light upon the heroes. The stars of destiny all stared at Leon waiting for the state of the world.

"The Grasslands succeeded in driving Tinto out of their borders. There had been other guerilla attacks, but when Dunan regained power Tinto fell back knowing that they were surrounded on their borders. Dunan, as mentioned just now, has been taken back as well. Windy left the area for the final battle, and we were able to regroup the city-states and form a rebellion. Toran was not taken with much success at first. Three of our great leaders, Lepant, Kai, and Valeria were all killed when captured by Nether Gate and Armes. Caesar and Apple were taken back to Falena and endured some minor torture techniques. Luckily, Georg and Lucretia had already taken back Falena by that time, so when the Armes boat sailed through we stopped them, found Caesar and Apple, and they're recuperating fine now. After this event, a group of heroes, Viktor, Flik, Cleo, Pahn, and Gremio, entered the castle where apparently a vampire Barbarosa and Neclord reincarnate were stationed. They defeated these two, rallied their own troops, and without the leadership of the enemy, they were able to retake Toran," Leon stated.

"What are we to do about Armes, Nether Gate, and the Howling Voice Guild?" Georg asked.

"I've already taken care of the Howling Voice Guild," Nash interuppted. "I killed off three of their best gunners. I then went to the Guild itself, found Master Sauro, explained what happened, showed him that Sturm has chosen me, and when they refused to stop becoming assassins. Well... I took care of them all, or rather, Sturm did. The Howling Voice Guild is dismantled."

Leon nodded and continued, "The leaders of Armes have all been killed it seems. Apparently, it was Nether Gate's doing. We have initiated a kind of martial law in Armes, sending down Island Nations troops to monitor the area. As for Nether Gate, unfortunately, we couldn't do anything. We don't know where they are stationed, or even how many there are, or who their leaders are exactly."

"What is the state of Harmonia?" Hugo asked.

"Harmonia is now under Sasarai's control," Leon smiled.

Sasarai nodded, "Harmonia is a peaceful nation now, and will remain to be."

"So what can we do now?" Chris asked.

"Now? You can go home. Maybe read, go hunting, whatever you feel like," Leon smiled.

"That's right, you're all released from the curse of the True Runes," Lucretia added. "You can live a normal life now."

Everybody left the large hall and walked down the marble steps of the Circle Palace and started to say their goodbyes.

"Nash," Hugo said. "I'm sorry about Sierra. Really, sorry."

"Hugo, she chose to do what she did knowing the consequences. I'm saddened by her death, but I'm happy of the path she chose in life. She grew up as a murderous vampire, but eventually gained control of herself, and in the end, she died for a cause she believed in. I can't fault her for her decision, even though it pains me to see her go," Nash replied. He looked at Chris and continued, "You just remember what Sierra said though. Good luck with everything Hugo. I doubt I'll ever see you again. I think I'm going to travel the world a bit, that seems to be what everybody else is doing. Especially since I only have one lifetime to do it."

Nash offered his hand, and Hugo clasped it and the two shook hands. Hugo turned and looked at Chris, he walked over to her, took her hand in his, and kissed her and held her close. She held him back and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Georg, it was a pleasure to meet you," Geddoe said. "I'm honored to have served with you, hopefully one day I can do some of the same good deeds you've done."

"No friend, really, you've already done more than you know," Georg chuckled. "I'm honored you feel that way though."

Freyjadour walked over to Geddoe and Georg, "Georg, we should be getting back soon, we have a long trip to Falena."

Georg nodded, "Get Lucretia and Lazlo and we'll begin our trip." He looked at Geddoe and put his hand on his shoulder, "Good luck Geddoe."

He turned and followed Freyjadour to Lazlo and Lucretia. Freyjadour stopped real quick to say goodbye to Hugo and Chris, and the four of them were headed toward the docks on the east side of the continent.

"Hey Hugo," Riou greeted, walking over to the former Flame Champion. "Remember what we all told you. Even though we may not have True Runes anymore, our advice still holds true. Be all you can be."

"I will, Riou. Thanks for everything. What do you plan on doing now?" Hugo replied.

"My sister Nanami is waiting for Jowy and I. And Jowy has his wife and adopted daughter waiting as well. I think we're going to find a nice quiet grove somewhere and live out our lives in peace. I knew a tactician who lived a life of solitude and peace, Mathiu, and looking back I yearn for that same peace. Good luck Hugo."

Everybody continued to say goodbye, wish each other luck, and go their seperate ways until just Sasarai, Hugo, Chris, Geddoe, Melville, and Louis remained.

"Sasarai, if you ever need the help of the Grasslands, don't hesitate to ask," Hugo offered.

"Likewise my friend, the Grasslands will always have Harmonia's support," Sasarai replied. "Hugo, Chris, Geddoe, Louis, Melville, good luck to all of you, I can't wait to see you again."

Sasarai turned and started up the stairs as the five other heroes turned around and walked toward the city walls. They bought four horses. Geddoe, Melville, and Louis mounted their own, and Hugo and Chris shared one.

They rode off out of the Crystal Valley toward Caleria and the mountain pass.

"Life seems like it will be boring now," Melville spoke.

"Life will finally be normal," Geddoe said with a special reverence.

"Things will be much better," Chris said as she smiled at Hugo.

"I certainly hope so Lady Chris," Louis replied.

_Louis_.

Louis's eyes darted open wide, trying to analyze what just happened.

_Louis_.

_Luc?_

_Louis, tell everybody thank you. You've prevented the Ashen Future, and completed my mission. _

_How can you still talk to me?_

_Am I still talking, or are you imagining it?_

Louis thought about that for a moment.

_I think you're here with us in spirit._

_I think we're all here in spirit. And I think we always will be._

Louis smiled at the thought, not knowing what to make of what just happened. He was happy now though, and knew he could dedicate himself to the things to come.

The five heroes spurred their horses and rode off into the sun setting over the mountain peaks.


	9. Chapter 9: Epilogue

**Chapter 9: Epilogue**

And as history went on, all these Rune Bearers felt the freedom of a mortal life. They understood more what death meant, and what life was about. The could now relate to Luc's dream of not living to see a lonely end, and they could understand the First Firebringer's motives for abandoning his rune to live a real life. It was a beautiful thing for all. Although it did seem like fate really had brought them all together, life was now much happier.

Freyjadour returned to Falena and abolished the rule of the Queendom. He founded not just a Kingdom, but a whole new government, where the people could choose the ruler. Without the Sun Rune, their whole land was changed.

Lazlo returned to the Island Nations, where the legend of Rune Cannons no longer bothered anybody. The islands had no more enemies, and they could live in peace from Armes. Lazlo no longer had to fear imminent death, he could live his life as a normal human.

Jowy and Riou left on their own adventure. They forgave each other for fighting again. They had said that Nanami was waiting for them at the most peaceful place on the Earth, and they were going to find her. Jilia and Pilika waited as well for Jowy. They were both released by their runes' competition and could truly be the best friends, and brothers, that they always had been.

Tir McDohl went to find Gremio, Pahn, and Cleo who were also waiting on a country nobody knew where. Tir ended up becoming his old self since he was no longer plagued by the Soul Eater. He constantly thought of Ted, but lived out the rest of his life to the best he could, making sure he lived it up enough for Ted's memory too, so that nothing was in vain.

Nash was always heralded as one of the greatest warriors because he could wield the Sturm and the Grosser Flux, and even though he knew he could be an asset to any army, he decided to give up that life to dedicate it to something more meaningful. He was deeply saddened by the loss of Sierra, but lived a life constantly thinking about his true love.

Jeane opened a fake rune shop where she would tell people the history of the world and all her experiences with it. And this is what she did until the day she died, and she was happy to do it every day.

Sasarai returned to Harmonia, where he had declared all the tacticians their own entity. He allowed them to go throughout the world and make decisions for people so that the world could live in peace. Sasarai became the Head Bishop of Harmonia, where he settled the nobility and let them become a peaceful nation.

Futch returned to his homeland but it was never the same again. There were no longer any dragons because the rune was gone, but he found happiness when he decided to marry Sharon.

Leknaat was now a lost soul without her rune. She wandered the land looking for a purpose but found none, until one day, Zerase found it in herself to forgive Leknaat for her plans. Zerase and Leknaat traveled the world together, enjoying the things in life that they never thought humanly possible. Windy eventually killed herself, not able to handle the fact that she no longer had power.

Edge was now just a normal warrior without his Zodiac Sword, but the Sword had posessed him with a new kind of excitement for a challenge. Edge now just used a normal broad sword, but went around the world slaying any obstacle that seemed to stand in his way. People would sing about his legend and tell stories about his adventures for many years until finally Viktor and Flik reunited with Edge. The three continued to travel and witness war and fighting, but always lending a hand to those in need. It was their fate to do so.

Hugo and Chris were married and raised a wonderful family. Chris always remembered her father and his struggle. Thomas became the leader of the Grasslands, and eventually raised up with the help of his assistants, Louis, Melville, Hugo, Chris, and Geddoe, a strong and wonderful empire. Geddoe became one of the greatest Generals of all time, drawing parallels to Georg Prime, who even looked almost alike. He was a merciful general, and created one of the most united armies the world had ever seen. He was the survivor of two Fire Bringer Wars and one of the chosen ones to lead the people. Melville also lived a life of adventure, bragging to everybody about how he saved the world by bringing down Hikusaak. He grew up to be a cowboy of a sort, looking for quick excitement and fun. He gambled and drank and loved to have fun with the ladies, but he never once lost himself in these activities. He dedicated himself to become a better person whenever he could, so that he could live up to his reputation. And Louis became one of the greatest knights of all time. He was a masterful tactician. He became Geddoe's right hand man, and almost a second father to Chris' children. He was as sly as Percival, dedicated as Borus, agile and quick as Roland, as tough and big as Leo, as smart as Salome, and as inspiring as Chris. He had truly become the embodiment of the Six Knights of Zexen, was a hero to all across the land, and taught people that royalty did not mean power.

Nobody in the world matched up to what Hugo grew to be though. All these former rune bearers were heroes in their own way, but Hugo surpassed anything anybody else did. Hugo continued to grow not just mentally, but physically, nearing almost seven feet tall. Once his children were much older, Hugo left civilization and went to live in the wilderness for a few years. He came back bigger and stronger than Hallec. He looked like a hero. When he came back, he had told people about his time meditating in the mountains. He came to the conclusion that All Men Are Brothers. After growing up in a socially challenged grassland, and meeting the heroes from all over the world, Hugo became the greatest leader for any kind of human suffrage. He went around and gave hope to all the Kobolds, Dwarves, Beavers, Lizards, Wingers, Humans, and any other kinds of species. He traveled the world, reached every continent, visited orphanges, raised money for towns, defended people against clans and robbers, and became an enormous figure head. He treated everybody like a brother, with love and respect. He created hospitals all over the world, promoted peace instead of war, created trade between countries, began a world-wide committee that became known as a League of the Nations, promoted religious ceremonies, and in effect created a much more peaceful world than would have been. He was loved for his actions, and he eventually died after a deep meditation. He had sat down in the middle of the burned down Karayan Village for nearly a month straight in deep meditation. Chris and Geddoe had found him right before he died. When they came to him, they realized he was now skin and bones and tore him out of his meditation. When they asked him what he had been meditating about, he replied that he was looking for the answer that would free people from their internal burdens, ones that were universal and not rune-induced. When people heard that he was dying thousands flocked to hear his final speech.

Hugo lied there dying, saying these final words, letting Geddoe yell them out to the crowd for Hugo was much too weak. He said, "Those freed from resentful thoughts will surely find peace because if you can forgive everything you will certainly understand everything. All that we are is the result of what we think and what we think we can become. Our peace comes from within. Do not believe what others say, no matter who it is, unless it agrees with your own reasoning and common sense. Rather, teach this truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity. Because at the end of the day, after the glorious Sun has set beyond the golden hills, and the animals have lied down to rest, and the stars have budded in the sky, even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely, because when you realize how perfect everything is, you will tild your head back and laugh. And remember, the way is not in the sky, the way is in the heart. You must be the change you wish to see in the world, that is how to live life to the fullest." And after saying this, he died, and his message lived on forever.

In the end though, after all the True Runes were gone, Good and Bad still remained. It was the way of the world, but this time strength was achieved through hard work, and nobody feared inhuman power. It was a much different world. Good and evil always remained though. And just as neither good nor evil ever totally conquered one another, nobody really knows if Yuber and Pesmerga ever ended their duel. They continued to fight after the Final Battle at Harmonia, and people across the world would see them battling, running, and sparring through various towns across the globe. It did not look like malicious fighting anymore, just something out of pure habit. Everybody knew the two were intertwined, and that they were both equally strong.

Yuber and Pesmerga taught the world moral lessons though, about the constant fight for good and evil. And with these moral lessons, the people in the world never ever once in the future, forgot about the True Stars of Heaven who risked their lives to protect all those to come. And in the future of the world, each Hero was given their due respect in every way imaginable.


End file.
